The UK government plans to bar under‑16s from using disappearing messages, livestreaming and romantic or sexual AI chatbots as part of a new child online‑safety package, according to reports Friday. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to outline the plans on Monday, but ministers will set out which specific platforms face an under-16 ban at a later date.

Under the plans, teenagers under 16 will face limits on “high‑risk” social media apps, and on specific functions even on “safer” platforms. For under‑16s, these risky functions include disappearing messages, chats with adult strangers and livestreaming, which ministers and law‑enforcement agencies link to grooming and child sexual abuse.

The plans bar under-18s from using romantic or sexual AI chatbots, building on earlier plans to crack down on AI‑generated “nudification.” Starmer has warned that he will legislate if technology companies fail to act within three months, and these rules will sit alongside proposed device‑level controls to stop minors viewing or sharing nude images.

These measures build on a national consultation launched in January on children’s use of social media and smartphones. The consultation looks at options such as raising the digital age of consent, implementing phone curfews to avoid excessive use, and restricting potentially addictive design features such as “streaks” and “infinite scrolling.” Before June 2, The government received more than 116,000 responses to the consultation and nine out of 10 parents expressed support for an under-16 ban.

However, Scotland’s children’s commissioner, Nicola Killean argues there is inadequate evidence that an under‑16 social media ban would make children safer, warning that such a ban might push children towards less regulated or more dangerous sections of the internet. “A ban does little to address underlying issues such as exploitative algorithms, and business models that drive harmful content and engagement,” she said.

Critics contend that similar blanket restrictions drives children’s online activity underground. In December, Australia implemented a nationwide prohibition preventing children under the age of 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms. Amnesty International criticized the measure as an “ineffective quick fix” that will not prevent online harms. Amnesty argues that such restrictions risk infringing children’s right to freedom of expression and fail to address the underlying problems, the platform’s own harmful business model designed to maximize engagement through data exploitation.