Tim Levy, Managing Director of global digital safeguarding company Qoria - parent company of Smoothwall - offers his insight into the UK social media ban, based on his first-hand learnings from Australia.
A UK ban on social media for under-16s may grab headlines, but on its own it won’t solve the underlying problem. The reality is that children don’t simply disappear from the digital world - they adapt, finding workarounds such as sharing devices and using false ages.
The ban in Australia supports this; the country’s eSafety Commissioner had conceded that they’ve ‘not observed a notable change in the number of cyberbullying and image-based abuse complaints involving age-restricted accounts across the platforms in January and February 2026 when compared to the same period in 2025’. Meanwhile, data released by social media companies does not support Australian Communication minister Anika Wells’ claim that 5 million under-16s’ social media accounts have been shut down.
Without the right safeguards in place, we also risk pushing young people towards less visible, less regulated parts of the internet where harms are harder to detect and prevent.
What’s missing from this conversation is accountability. Platforms continue to design environments that maximise engagement, using features like infinite scrolling and automated systems to boost the reach of specific content, without fully addressing the impact on younger users.
We need to see action taken on technology which can be installed on devices to combat child sexual abuse material, amongst other measures, and give parents access to the same safety tools which are used by big business and government departments under big tech enterprise agreements.
Protecting children online requires a joined-up approach, including age-appropriate restrictions, education of parents, children and teachers, and tech companies being responsible and taking meaningful steps to support children’s online safety, such as accurate and secure age verification checks and the filtering of suitable content.
From our work with schools and safeguarding leads across the UK, we know that visibility, not avoidance, is key. The focus should be on creating safer digital environments, not simply removing access.
A ban may be part of the discussion, but it cannot be the whole solution.