A YEAR AGO, tech journalist Elaine Burke invited me to co-host her long-running podcast, For Tech’s Sake. The first episode we recorded together in 2025 looked at the introduction of age verification for social media and online platforms within the EU and the UK. Our takeaway back then was that age-gating certain corners of the internet was a nightmare to implement and a disaster for privacy.

Twelve months on, things have developed in a more extreme way than anticipated. We found ourselves revisiting that conversation in light of the UK government’s controversial decision to introduce a blanket ban on social media for teenagers under the age of 16. From spring 2027, teens in the UK will lose access to Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, X, Facebook and Bluesky, though they’ll still be able to use chat apps like WhatsApp and Signal.

The Brits aren’t the first to do this, as Australia banned young people from TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads in December 2025. The ban aimed to deactivate accounts of under-16s and prevent them from setting up new accounts.

Now, the Irish Government is considering a ban of its own, albeit one that involves the input and guidance of the EU. Some believe we’re in an advantageous position as we get to see how things unfold in the UK, but realistically, Australia’s ban has shown us everything we need to see.

Pureprofile surveyed teachers, parents and young people to see how things were going. In 2025, 84% of Aussie kids had sustained access to the banned........

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