UK Plans ID or Facial Age Checks for New Social Media Accounts by 2027
Summary
The UK plans age checks for new social media accounts from spring 2027. Experts warn checks may be bypassed with VPNs and could expose ID and biometric data to breaches.
Key points
- The UK plans to bar under-16s from covered social media platforms, with rules expected to take effect in spring 2027.
- New accounts would require age verification, likely through an ID upload or facial age scan; many existing accounts would be exempt.
- The plan covers major social platforms but excludes messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal; some gaming features, including chat on Roblox, may face restrictions.
- Experts warn that VPNs can circumvent site-based age checks; the article cites Australian research finding that many children continued using social media after that country’s ban.
- Researchers cited in the article found most tested age-verification methods had low-to-medium robustness, while experts warned that collecting ID and biometric data creates breach and identity-theft risks.
- The government has not announced a general VPN ban, though it is considering options to restrict children’s VPN use.
Article Details
- Event Type
- The UK government plans to restrict under-16s from social media, requiring age verification for new accounts.
- Impact
- Platforms would verify new users’ ages through ID uploads or facial age scans, while most existing adult accounts would be exempt. Experts warn that VPNs could bypass the checks and that collecting identity documents and biometric data could increase privacy, identity-theft, and data-breach risks. The rules are expected to take effect in spring 2027.
People
Dr. Richard GomerA University of Southampton computer science lecturer who warned that age checks could expose identity documents to theft or blackmail and weaken anonymous communication.Dr. Siamak ShahandashtiA University of York cyber security and privacy lecturer who discussed research on the robustness of age-verification methods and the risks of relying on them.James BakerOpen Rights Group’s Platform Power and Freedom of Expression programme lead, who criticized the measures and argued they address symptoms rather than the causes of harmful content.Keir StarmerThe UK Prime Minister who announced the plan to restrict under-16s’ access to social media.Liz KendallThe Technology Secretary who described the government’s plan to restrict under-16s’ access to social media.