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It's a problem almost as old as the internet itself: How do we keep kids safe when they're online? A growing campaign argues that the solution is for the government to outlaw social media use during kids' developmental years. A narrow majority of American adults seems to agree.
A new national survey from the Pew Research Center published on July 1 found that 56% of US adults say they would support a social media ban for teens under 16. That number rises to 65% among parents of a child under 18.
The new data provides fuel for major policy drives worldwide to restrict kids' and teens' access to social media platforms. Australia is enforcing its existing under-16 social media ban, passed in late 2025, and both the United Kingdom and Spain are advancing new legislation through parliament to implement similar restrictions, potentially going into effect next year.
In the US, over a dozen states have enacted social media restrictions for youth, and hundreds of bills are under discussion nationwide. Juries in landmark cases in New Mexico and California agreed with plaintiffs that social media giants Meta and Google were exploitative and harmful to young people.
A battle with no end in sight
Over the past two decades, there have been a lot of proposed solutions to child safety online. None has broad agreement among experts.
Bans are one of the more extreme measures proposed. Privacy advocates and youth activists have raised ongoing concerns that bans can lead to more isolation for vulnerable groups like LGBTQ+ youth and restrict teens' right to free expression.
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Support for other measures to keep kids' social media use in check is "even more widespread today than in 2023," Pew wrote. The vast majority (85%) say they would support a requirement that made teens get a parent's approval before creating a social media account.
Many (78%) think people should be required to verify their age before scrolling social feeds. And time limits, one of the most popular strategies to rein in teens' screen time, has strong support at 78% as well.
Though social media platforms have introduced a plethora of tools, from age verification to parental controls, they haven't been deemed reliable or effective. New research published this week from tech watchdog groups found that more than half of safety features failed on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube.
Getting around child safety restrictions isn't complicated, either. According to a recent report from UK-based nonprofit Internet Matters, a third of UK children are bypassing age verification measures by using VPNs and with tactics as simple as drawing on facial hair.
US adults who don't support a teen social media ban are split between opposing it (21%) and being unsure (23%). It's an issue that crosses partisan lines: 59% of Republicans and 54% of Democrats support a ban. Fewer for each party oppose it, 19% for Republicans and 23% for Democrats.
