Lords vote brings UK “Social Media Ban” one step closer
KIT KNIGHTLY
esterday, the British House of Lords brought the looming end of online anonymity one step closer when they voted to support an amendment to the pending Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that would ban children under 16 from using social media.
It’s been said more times than anyone can count, but any “social media ban” based on age would – in reality – be an excuse to require all users to verify their identity and thereby end online anonymity, and eventually usher in government backed digital ID apps.
The good news is that some dissenters in the Lords seems to be aware of this danger, and spoke of it openly:
A bit of a lone voice against cross-party fervour of Lords baying to ban social media for the under 16s. It really won’t keep kids safe and could create a range of unintended consequences. But also it makes ADULT age-gating ID checks compulsory, for all user to user services.… pic.twitter.com/PSKPyu6qAl
— Claire Fox (@Fox_Claire) January 22, 2026
…though I would add, in this case, the consequences are far from “unintended”. The side effect is the intended effect.
The press are, naturally, toeing the line. The Guardian, faithful agenda-setters that they are, try to sell Sir Keir Starmer as reluctant to institute such a ban, and that the Lords are “pressuring” him to act.
This is an obvious and rather pitiful lie, this ban has clearly been the desired outcome for months. But faux reluctance is always important when becoming a tyrant. Always better to appear to be answering the call than imposing your will.
As ever, this isn’t just a UK issue. Australia got the ball rolling and the EU isn’t far behind.
Meanwhile, across pond, the US version of the same legislation has been “revived” according to Reclaim the Net, and Canadian officials are drawing up plans of their own, with the slightest wrinkle of a lower age cut-off.
Even as the leaders of the “free world” gather in Davos to take pot shots at one another, the evident truth is they either agree on their most fundamental policies, or the power to make those decisions is entirely out of their hands.
As the world powers pretend to conflict, the reality is they move in concert toward the same end.
This article (Lords vote brings UK “Social Media Ban” one step closer) was created and published by off-Guardian and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Kit Knightly
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