Australia has banned social media for under-16s – should the UK follow?

At 1pm UK time today, the world’s first law banning young people from accessing social media came into effect.

British teens and preteens may be relieved that it was happening on the opposite side of the world, as the clocks passed midnight in the Australian capital of Canberra.

From today, a precise list of social media sites – Snapchat, TikTok, X, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Kick and Twitch – are legally required to bar access to Aussie under-16s.

Even as the law kicks in, there are questions over whether it is enforceable, amid reports of kids using basic techniques such as holding up a photograph to beat facial recognition software.

But back in the UK, a different question hovers above the news: could it happen here?

Like in Australia, there’s certainly no shortage of co