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The last time I saw my son alive, nothing felt unusual. There was no warning, no flashing signals that something was wrong. Like so many parents, I believed the biggest risks to my child were the ones I could see — driving, drugs on the street and strangers in the physical world. I did what parents are taught to do: I stayed involved, asked questions and set boundaries. But the danger that took my son didn’t come from the outside world I understood. It came through an app, a system designed to connect instantly, privately and without friction, a system I could neither see nor control. Through Snapchat, a drug dealer reached out to Sammy and delivered a counterfeit drug to our home, like a pizza, after we were asleep. It contained a lethal dose of fentanyl. Every day in California, families are confronting a dangerous reality. Social media platforms are placing powerful, rapid and often anonymous communication tools directly into the hands of young teenagers. While those tools can be used for connection, they can also expose kids to risks they are not developmentally ready to navigate. Lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit children under 16 from

Following the 2020 accidental overdose of her daughter, Colorado’s Patti Lujan is still pursuing a lawsuit against Snapchat, the social media platform she claims connected her daughter with a drug dealer, police said. Lujan, like many parents, is looking for more social media protections for juveniles through increased regulation. Lujan’s “lawsuit alleges that Snapchat’s platform ‘purposefully obstructs parental supervision’ and ‘enables (drug) dealers to locate and access nearby minors and young adults,'” according to a news release. The mother believes that Snapchat protects drug dealers by not identifying and removing them from the app, and she called for protective measures to be put in place for minors, according to a Colorado Community Media story. All around the country, legislators are making efforts to put regulations and protections on social media platforms for minors. Concerned parents and legislators claim the platforms pose mental health and safety risks for developing youth. Just one Colorado bill relevant to youth on social media became law this year. SB26-011, “Search Warrants Provided to Covered Platforms,” requires that operators of covered platforms provide a system, such as a staffed hotline, for law enforcement to contact them with search warrants for user data at all times. A

The UK government yesterday announced that social media platforms will be banned from offering services to children under 16, setting a Spring 2027 implementation deadline and introducing a wider set of restrictions on harmful features across online services including gaming sites. The announcement, made on June 15, 2026, by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), marks the most significant step yet in the government's effort to tighten online rules for children. Platforms named in the plans include Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X. Messaging services WhatsApp and Signal are explicitly excluded from the ban's scope. The model behind the ban The government plans to use the same legislative model as Australia, which implemented its own under-16 social media ban on December 10, 2025, covering nine platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, and Kick. Australia's framework makes platforms liable for civil penalties of up to 150,000 penalty units - currently equivalent to approximately $49.5 million - for failing to take "reasonable steps" to enforce the age restriction. According to the UK government's fact sheet, the proposed ban would capture "user-to-user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction and which allow users to post material, alongside

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Updated June 15, 2026, 12:39 p.m. ET LONDON ‒ British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on June 15 he would ban social media sites for children under the age of 16 and impose restrictions on gaming and live-streaming platforms, in a fightback against big tech that goes further than any other country. The sweeping changes will "give kids their childhood back," Starmer said, outlining measures against platforms including Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram, as well as gaming sites that allow strangers to communicate with children. "It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice," he told a press conference. "It will make a huge difference, it will make our children safer, it will make our children happier, it will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity". Britain will use a similar model to Australia, which enacted a ban last December, the government said. It will cover platforms that also include YouTube, Facebook and X, but messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal will not be included in the ban. Britain will also introduce "world-leading blocks" on harmful functions such as live streaming and stranger communication with children under 16. "Is there a situation

Wen social media ban for UK go start and which apps e go affect? Wia dis foto come from, Alvaro Gonzalez Author, Liv McMahon Role, Technology reporter Author, Duncan Walker Published 15 June 2026 New Informate 6 hours wey don pass Read am in 6 mins UK govment don announce say dem go ban social media for children wey dey under the age of 16, for early 2027. Di govment still dey consider ova night curfew and measure to stop dem from scrolling too for under-18s. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer tok say to keep pikin dem from social media na di best way to protect dem online. Di ban go affect platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, di government tok. Dem neva release di complete list of platforms wey dem go ban. However, di govment tok say e go cover dose "wey dey help pipo interact and allow users to post materials. Features including livestreaming and strangers wey dem fit use contact children go dey restricted. Di govment tok say dem no plan to put messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal for di social media ban. Dem also tok say YouTube Kids - di version of

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Keir Starmer is to ban under-16s from major social media apps such as TikTok, Instagram and X in sweeping restrictions described as “Australia plus”, the Guardian understands. In a major policy shift far tougher than previously briefed, the prime minister will announce that teenagers will be banned from all the main social platforms. Online products that are not covered by the ban – such as gaming apps – will face new restrictions such as having the option to chat to strangers removed. There will also be restrictions for older teenagers up to the age of 18 that prevent “scrolling” late at night. Australia became the world’s first country to implement a nationwide social media ban for children under 16 in December 2025. Children are restricted from 10 major platforms – TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, Facebook, X, Threads, Snapchat, Twitch and Kick – and UK government sources indicated that its ban on major platforms would apply to a similar range of apps. Starmer will announce the ban on Monday morning after months of pressure to act. “How we keep kids safe online is one of the biggest debates of our time. As a dad, I know every parent wants their child

... were attempting to meet a person they connected with on Snapchat when they were approached by an armed man asking for money.

It took Cruz Condren about a week to lose his Snapchat account, and a few seconds to get it back. “It asked me to verify my age by a camera,” says the 14-year-old from the Gold Coast. “I just asked my mum to scan her face because she’s over 18. It just let me back on.” Fourteen-year-old Cruz Condren (right) still uses Snapchat, with his mother’s blessing. Six months after Australia became the first country to ban under 16s from social media, Cruz’s workaround – performed with his mother’s blessing – is the kind of evidence now being weighed in London, Brussels and Ottawa as governments decide whether to copy Australia’s experiment or learn from its mistakes. Communications Minister Anika Wells spent Thursday morning dialling in to a London broadcast studio via Zoom to make the case for the former. “A lot of people who are against a ban here are using what they describe as the evidence from Australia to say, look, this doesn’t work,” Sky News host Sophy Ridge put to her. “Loads of kids are getting around it, so what’s the point?” Wells’ answer was that the sceptics “and their allies in big tech” want doubt cast