Nandy says children’s social media ban only ‘staging post’ in online safety drive

Exclusive: Culture secretary says UK will crack down further and be ‘pioneer of tech as a force for good’ Lisa Nandy has warned technology firms that the government’s online safety crackdown is not finished, saying that banning under-16s from social media platforms is only a “staging post”.

Earlier this year the government announced that teenagers under the age of 16 would be banned from accessing “high-risk” social media apps, while safer platforms would be subjected to restrictions. This article was amended on 30 September 2026. An earlier version said the UK’s…