On Monday, the government said a social media ban for under-16s in the UK is coming.
But beyond the applications mentioned by the government there’s little clarification on what will and won’t be included or how the rules would apply to gaming sites such as Roblox.
And many are already asking if enforcing the prohibition will mean cracking down on virtual private networks (VPNs), which can mask someone’s location online.
Ministers have announced in July they will provide an update on further limits such as potential curfews, curbs on “addictive” features such as infinite scroll and AI chatbots.
But these are some of the key questions still hanging over the UK social media ban.
1. What does it mean for Roblox and other gaming sites?
The government has only named a few sites covered by the UK’s social media ban.
They are Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X.
But it says its limits would closely mirror Australia’s – which bans the top applications, plus Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch for under-16s.
So what does that mean for Roblox and gaming sites like it?
Roblox is immensely popular with youngsters in the UK, but has been accused of failing to keep them secure – including allegations that allowed minors to be preyed upon by adults.
Roblox claims it has taken measures to safeguard underage users, including increasing capabilities to assess a user’s age to determine what games and activities they can access.
“It is not yet clear how they will treat gaming sites,” says Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University. “Though if they follow the Australian approach these will lie outside the Australian ban.”
Whether or whether it does end up being banned for under-16s, Roblox will still have to follow criteria for all platforms to switch off elements that allow strangers to communicate with children, announced alongside the ban.
The administration was keen to emphasise that this limitation would be applicable to gaming services.
It also states children will still be able to play online multiplayer games.
2. What about YouTube – and YouTube Kids?
YouTube will be included in the restriction, but YouTube Kids will not.
But it’s unclear how YouTube would prevent kids from getting to the site via search without an account once a ban is in place, or how instructional video could be exempt from any limitations.
YouTube said the restriction was a “vital resource for young people” and “risking pushing children towards anonymous, less safe services”.
Questions are developing about what a ban on YouTube would imply for children’s access to educational films on the platform.
Watching videos helps with school work, Google believes, citing research it did with consultancy firm Livity that found 95% of UK students asked agreed.
The government says there would be “a narrowly defined list of exemptions” to its definitions for platforms included in the social media ban, to keep educational programs available to youngsters.
3. Why are platforms like WhatsApp and Pinterest not included?
WhatsApp is one of the few platforms we don’t expect to be swept up in a ban on social media for kids in the UK.
Ofcom said half of all 8-17 year olds use the messaging app, owned by Facebook-parent Meta.
In a news statement on its proposals for limits, the government stated it was “considering how to determine exactly which platforms will be covered by the restrictions”.
But it isn’t planning on adding messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
The government says the ban will cover platforms “whose purpose is to facilitate social interaction and which allow users to post material”.
This concept likely wouldn’t apply to messaging applications, but may perhaps apply to Discord and Pinterest.
But both, along with services like Bluesky, Tumblr and Telegram, are not on Australia’s banned list.
4. Will enforcing this mean cracking down on VPNs?
One of the major questions to come out of the UK’s social media ban is how it will be implemented.
The government claims it will deploy “highly effective age assurance” – tighter checks to correctly identify or estimate a person’s age – to make a prohibition stick.
These checks could involve verification techniques such as asking a person to scan their face (facial age estimate tech), upload a form of ID (Photo ID matching) or use a digital identity service such as Yoti.
In a letter to the government, Ofcom, the regulator, said there were difficulties with implementing age assurance at 16 – although it was technically possible.
Less accurate ways to measure or estimate if someone is 16 or under than if they are 18 or under . ( ID or data available is different ) .
Ofcom says checks on credit card or email address work at 18, but not at 16.
It has advised the government: “We have more work to do to understand the effectiveness and accessibility of different methods, the availability of identity and age attributes at 16, and the privacy considerations of different existing and emerging methods.
5. Will this really happen by next spring?
Just look at the years it took to pass the UK’s current set of duties and laws for online platforms, the Online Safety Act (OSA), to realise that regulation in the fast-moving internet sector can take time.
But in areas where the OSA is still being implemented, the government has lately invoked the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act to give ministers powers to impose extra restrictions by regulations.
So the government will not have to bring a formal move of parliament to put in place a prohibition and can move pretty fast.
Tech Secretary Liz Kendall told MPs on Monday: “I want a vote on it by the end of the year and I want it to come into force as soon as feasible in the first couple of months of 2027.
But if tech corporations choose to fight the process in the courts through judicial review, that may drag down the schedule for a ban.
“Secondary legislation is subject to review by the courts as it does not have the rigorous multi-stage scrutiny required for statutes. Primary legislation is effectively immune from challenge,” explains senior associate at law firm Winston Taylor Giulia Carloni.
