The UK Government has announced a social media ban for under-16s.

Evidence suggests the proposed social media ban won't work.

Adolescents are digital natives, familiar with hacks and loopholes to override controls.

I wonder if UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ever watched the 1980’s movie Footloose. Bear with me. The film tells the story of a teenage boy who moves from a big city to a small, conservative town that banned dancing following a tragic car accident involving local adolescents. The boy and his friends refused to accept the ban and set out to overturn it so they could enjoy senior prom. It sounds quaint and quintessentially 1980s, but the script is said to be loosely inspired by the true story of a group of Oklahoma teenagers who successfully challenged an 80-year-old ban on public dancing. The moral, of both the true story and the film, seems to be: Where there’s a will, teenagers will find a way.

This narrative provides the perfect metaphor for the news this week that UK Government – the small, conservative town in this scenario – has announced a ban on social media for under-16s, which is likely to come into effect from spring 2027. Like the real/fictional bans on dancing, this decision was made with good intentions off the back of tragedy, but, just like the real/fictional bans on dancing, it won’t work.

According to one report, in the 24 hours immediately after the ban was announced, searches for virtual private........

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