The Tories have pledged to kick under-16s off social media, betting that banning teens from TikTok and Instagram will fix what they see as a growing crisis in kids' mental health and classroom behavior.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch told the BBC that social media platforms are "designed to be addictive" and are profiting off children's "anxiety and distraction," arguing that a firm age limit is needed to protect mental health and education.

"What we want to see is common sense, protection for children, and freedom for adults. We want to give parents some understanding that the government understands what they're going through. So we want to bring in age limits," Badenoch told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. "The internet is a Wild West, social media in particular. We don't think children should be on there, and we want the industry to set the direction of travel so that we can start working with them now in order to get the proper solutions in place."

The policy would force social networks to stop under-16s from accessing services and follows Australia's world-first ban that came into effect on December 10, 2025, barring under-16s from holding accounts on major sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

The Conservatives say age verification systems that don't rely on government digital IDs could be used to implement the ban, and Badenoch also floated banning mobile phones in schools, saying that reducing screen time is central to improving classroom behavior. Enforcement is likely to be the harder part, given how easily teens bypass restrictions and the limits on how closely platforms can monitor users.

The pledge comes after the NASUWT teachers' union piled on pressure for government action, urging ministers to pass legislation that would force tech firms to block under-16s' access to social media, citing rising mental health concerns and what it calls a behavior crisis in schools.

According to a survey by the union, large majorities of teachers reported increased misbehavior and linked it, at least in part, to social media use. NASUWT insists that tech companies will not act responsibly unless compelled to do so by law – a line that chimes with the Tory pitch.

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Australia's ban forces platforms to remove under-16 accounts and to demonstrate that they are enforcing age checks. With the threat of hefty fines looming, companies have little room to ignore the rules, even as the law's practical impact is still being tested.

Labour has been more, er, conservative. The party has stopped short of backing an outright ban, but individual members such as Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have publicly supported tougher limits on children's access to social media. The government's line remains that existing laws, including the Online Safety Act, already give regulators enough muscle, and that any further steps should be grounded in evidence.

Exactly how a ban would be enforced, or what it would actually change, is unclear, but the pledge shows the Conservatives are ready to intervene more aggressively in how kids use social platforms. ®