Published on 6/16/2026
Amnesty International criticized the British government’s decision to ban the use of social media for those under the age of 16, considering it to represent “a correct diagnosis and a wrong prescription.”
Kerry Moscoggiore, Executive Director of Amnesty International in the United Kingdom, said that the government was correct in monitoring the serious harm that many children are exposed to online, noting that major technology companies have built products and profit models based on keeping children occupied for longer periods, “often at the expense of their well-being, privacy and rights.”
But she stressed that the problem “is not the presence of children on social media, but rather that these platforms are unsafe by design,” and that banning those under 16 “risks treating children as the problem, instead of addressing the companies and systems that create the risks in the first place.”
She added that young people “deserve to be safe on the Internet, but they also have rights,” pointing out that social media may expose children to harm, but at the same time it is a space for learning, communicating with friends, obtaining support, organizing campaigns on issues that concern them, and expressing their opinions.
Rabbit holes
Moscoggiore stressed that “a design problem cannot be solved by blocking access,” and that if the diagnosis is that the platforms are harmful to children, “then the solution should be to regulate these platforms, not exclude children from them.” She believed that the responsibility for protecting children should first fall on the companies that build these platforms and make profits from them.
Amnesty International called on the government to focus on ending the practice of “excessive targeting” of children, tackling addictive and manipulative design features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling, protecting children’s data and putting safety before profit.
These statements come after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced yesterday, Monday, a complete ban on the use of social media for those under 16 years of age, including platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. The ban is expected to come into effect in 2027.
Amnesty International noted that its research documented how platform design can push children down dangerous paths, citing its 2023 report, “Driven into Darkness,” which showed that TikTok’s “For You” algorithm could lure some young users into “rabbit holes” of harmful content, including material that glorifies or encourages depressive thinking, self-harm, and suicide.
