Maisie Lloyd
Maisie is the Digital Content Manager at Intelligency, handling all things creative for the agency. Her experience centres around the production of digital content, pertaining to graphic design, writing copy, and video and audio content.
In April, the British Government voted against a social media ban for under-16s, which we would have initially assumed would end the discussion. But now, ministers are discussing implementing alternative protections with restrictions. Reports suggest restrictions could be implemented before summer.
What sort of restrictions can be expected?
Whilst the details are yet to be ironed out, groups like the Mental Health Foundation
Have made recommendations to parliament about certain changes that could help protect young people on social platforms.
Revoking platforms
One of the recommendations that has been made is to remove access to these platforms until it can be evidenced by said company that the right safety measures are implemented.
Age-rated content
As in the film and television industry, a proposed idea is to age-rate content to ensure that content shown in users’ feeds appropriately corresponds to their age. This could look like a 13, 16 and 18 age rating. This approach would essentially ensure that all content is moderated and checked for any potential harm.
Better offline support
That means increasing funding for mental health support and budgeting for technological education. This approach looks to set up various supports both in the community and during school hours.
Social media curfews
A social media curfew is being proposed as a potential form of protection. This would limit the amount of time young people are able to utilise social media for, which could, in practice, reduce the harms which children are exposed to online.
Feature and algorithmic adjustments
Consultation has extended to potentially adjusting certain app features or algorithms to make social media less addictive. This could include stripping auto-play, axing infinite scroll or replacing algorithms with chronological feeds, rather than curating content to the individual user’s preferences.
That’s not necessarily bad, but it does make growth slower, less predictable, and more effort-intensive.
How could social media restrictions for under-16’s impact marketers?
Each type of restriction that is theorised to be implemented could have different repercussions for marketers, effectively eliminating algorithm-based tactics and forcing marketers towards a less addictive, moderated model.
Revoking platforms (temporary bans until safety compliance) could create a level of uncertainty. Platform stability is vital for building and maintaining audiences and ad campaigns. This would likely result in brands having to plan in the short-term, increasing the risks around campaigns not working.
Brands may depend on owned channels like websites and email lists instead of rented platforms for better security.
Age-rated content (13 / 16 / 18 categories) could mean that businesses create campaigns with compliance at the forefront of creation. Some high-performing content (e.g. edgy humour, influencer-style trends) may be limited to older age groups
Social media curfews would directly limit the usage of younger users. Less screen time can result in fewer impressions. Brands with a specifically younger audience are likely to be affected the most.
Feature & algorithm changes (no infinite scroll, chronological feeds, no autoplay)
This is arguably the biggest shift:
- Engagement drops because platforms become less addictive
- Algorithmic targeting becomes weaker and less personalised
- Organic reach becomes more dependent on posting time and follower base (not algorithm boosts)
- Viral growth becomes harder to achieve
For marketers, this means: - Greater emphasis on content quality over algorithm gaming
- More importance on brand loyalty and direct followers
- Paid ads may become less efficient if targeting precision declines
In short, while a full under-16 social media ban appears off the table for now, the UK Government is clearly still exploring ways to tighten online protections for young users. For marketers, this signals a likely shift towards safer, less algorithm-dependent strategies, making adaptability and stronger owned-channel marketing more important than ever.
