Is a social media ban workable?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Teenagers generally hate being told what to do – as any parent who’s tried getting them off their phones can testify.
The government is now considering a social media ban on children under 16 – but the move has had mixed reviews since its introduction in Australia. What lessons can be learned over here?
Would teenagers simply find a way around the ban? And is there a better way to keep children safe online?
Jonathan Samuels is joined by Sky’s tech reporter Mickey Carroll.
Producer: Natalie Ktena
Editor: Mike Bovill
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | coming up on the full story first coming up on the sky news daily with me jonathan samuels the |
| 0:12.7 | government's looking into whether social media should be banned for under 16s a similar ban was |
| 0:18.4 | launched in australia last year So has it been a success? |
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| 1:26.3 | From cyberbullying to grooming, the online world is fraught with dangers for young people. |
| 1:32.1 | And for many, of course, it starts with social media. |
| 1:35.4 | But could all this be about to change? |
| 1:37.5 | The government has announced a consultation that could lead to a ban on certain social media |
| 1:42.4 | platforms for under 16s. So what might a ban actually |
| 1:47.2 | look like and what can we learn from Australia where a similar ban was introduced last month? |
| 1:52.9 | Someone who's been following this closely is Sky's Science and Technology reporter Mickey Carroll. |
| 1:58.4 | Mickey, great to have you on the podcast. So the UK is starting this |
| 2:02.3 | consultation on whether or not we should ban social media for under 16s. But one country |
| 2:08.0 | has started that ban already. It's Australia. Tell me how it's worked down under. So in December, |
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