House of Lords votes to ban social media for under-16s in UK

The House of Lords has backed the amendment

The House voted today with 261 voting in favour of an amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, with 150 voting against.

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill was introduced by the House of Commons in 2024, with the amendment needing to be passed back to the Commons before being ratified and entering into law.

This means the government could still block the amendment, which Keir Starmer appears to be against.

This comes as a spokesperson for Keir Starmer said: "Our position is clear: we won't accept the amendment. This is an extremely complex issue. We believe the right thing to do is to gather the necessary evidence and insight before changing the law."

The amendment was proposed by Tory former education minister Lord Nash alongside former Labour MP Baroness Berger, Lib Dem peer Baroness Benjamin, and crossbencher Baroness Cass.

The amendment says that within 12 months of the act passing, the government must ensure social media sites use "highly effective" age checks to prevent those under 16 years of age from becoming users.

This news follows on from Australia introducing a social media ban for under-16s at the end of last year.