LONDON — ‌British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said today he would ban social media sites for under-16s and impose restrictions ‌on gaming and livestreaming platforms, in some of the world’s most far-reaching online restrictions to date. 

The sweeping changes will reflect Britain’s values, helping to protect children online while pushing back against the power of big technology companies, Starmer told a press conference. 

”It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” he said. “This will change the conversations that parents have and the expectations of children over time. It will make a huge difference, it will make our children safer, it will make our children happier, it will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity”. 

As well as a ban on sites such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, he said he would take action against gaming and livestreaming services which allow children to talk to strangers. “Is there a situation in the offline world where you would ‌just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that you don’t know anything about? No, so we’re taking ⁠action on that,” Starmer said. 

Ban in place by next spring? 

The government ⁠already has the powers to take the first steps in any ban, he ⁠said, with regulation to follow by the ⁠end of the year and ⁠a prohibition in place around next spring. 

Britain has increasingly toughened its approach to tech companies in recent years, urging or forcing them to impose age verification, adapt their algorithms and, most recently, prevent children from circulating nude images taken on mobile phones.