Members of Parliament in the UK House of Commons have voted for the second time against a strict ban on social media for children and teenagers under 16. Instead, Parliament backed the government’s more flexible approach, which provides targeted measures to protect children from harmful content.
The vote took place during a “ping-pong” exchange between the two chambers over the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. An amendment proposed by Conservative peer Lord John Nash — a former education minister — called for a complete ban on access by under-16s to regulated social platforms, with mandatory age verification. The Lords backed the initiative twice (in January and March 2026), but the Commons rejected it both times.
In the most recent vote on 15 April, MPs supported the government’s amendments by 256 votes to 150 — a majority of 106. An earlier vote in March had ended 307 to 173.
Keir Starmer’s Labour government opposes an immediate blanket ban. Instead, it proposes granting ministers additional powers to introduce regulations requiring providers and platforms to restrict or block children’s access to specific harmful features and services — including certain social media functions, online games, chat services, and AI tools. This approach is considered more flexible and would allow account to be taken of an ongoing public consultation on children’s digital wellbeing.
Supporters of a hard ban — including campaign groups and parents who have lost children to online harms — were sharply critical of the outcome. Sixteen bereaved parents were present in the chamber during the vote. They demanded immediate action along the lines of Australia, where a similar ban is already in force.
Opponents of an outright ban, including many MPs from the governing party, argued that a strict prohibition could prove ineffective (given workarounds such as VPNs) and was premature ahead of the conclusion of the consultations. In their view, flexible powers would allow a more targeted response to addiction, bullying, harmful content, and algorithms that encourage “infinite scrolling.”
The Bill may now return to the House of Lords for further negotiation, but given the government’s substantial majority in the Commons, a full ban appears unlikely. The final version of the legislation will in all probability retain the emphasis on flexible regulatory tools.