Momentum, a political party in Malta, is pressing for an immediate ban on social media access for children under 16, arguing that tech giants will never voluntarily reform the addictive algorithms and toxic features that drive their profit models. The call comes as dozens of countries worldwide tighten restrictions on underage platform use, with enforcement battles already underway and early evidence suggesting widespread circumvention.
Why This Matters
• Global momentum is building: The UK announced plans for a ban on June 18, 2026, with legislation expected before Christmas 2026 and enforcement targeting Spring 2027. The ban would cover platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, and the UAE have all enacted similar laws in the past three months.
• Mental health evidence is mounting: A major JAMA Pediatrics review published in March 2026 analyzed data from 153 studies and nearly 19,000 children, concluding that social media heightens the risk of depression, self-harm, and substance abuse, especially in 12- to 15-year-olds.
• Enforcement is proving difficult: In Australia, which became the first country to implement a full ban in December 2025, over 60% of underage users have already found workarounds.
The Case for a Hard Age Limit
Momentum's warning centers on a structural critique: platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat are engineered for engagement at any cost, using data-harvesting algorithms that curate infinite scrolling feeds designed to maximize screen time. The party contends that voluntary industry reform is a fantasy, pointing to years of incremental safety features that have done little to curb rising rates of anxiety, depression, and body dysmorphia among teens.
Recent data supports this skepticism. Despite nominal age restrictions of 13 on most platforms, nearly 40% of children aged 8 to 12 in Western countries actively use social media, and over 63% of under-13s maintain accounts by misrepresenting their age. A 2023 U.S. Surgeon General advisory found that at least one-third of girls aged 11 to 15 felt "addicted" to certain platforms, a figure that recent estimates from 2026 suggest has not improved.
The JAMA Pediatrics review offered the most comprehensive synthesis to date, identifying particularly strong correlations between platform use and depressive symptoms in the 12-to-15 age band—the precise window when neural pathways governing impulse control, emotional regulation, and social reward sensitivity are still maturing. For teen girls, the impacts are more severe: 25% report harm to their mental health from social media, versus 14% of boys, with pronounced differences in sleep disruption and self-confidence.
What Countries Are Doing Right Now
Australia led the charge with its Online Safety Amendment Act, which took effect on December 10, 2025. The law requires platforms to take "reasonable steps" to block under-16s, with fines up to A$49.5M (US$33M) for repeated violations. Parental consent offers no exemption. Yet early compliance reports reveal a familiar pattern: adolescents are using fake birthdates, VPNs, and borrowed accounts to maintain access.
Indonesia followed suit on March 28, 2026, becoming the first Asian and Muslim-majority nation to impose a hard cutoff at 16. Enforcement is rolling out in phases across YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.
Malaysia activated its ban on June 1, 2026, targeting platforms with over 8 million users. The UAE introduced mandatory age checks on June 18, barring under-15s from creating accounts and requiring stricter safeguards for 15- and 16-year-olds. Platforms have one year to comply.
In Europe, the UK government announced on June 18, 2026 that it will introduce legislation to Parliament before Christmas 2026, with protections coming into force by Spring 2027. The ban will cover TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and X, but exclude messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal. The UK is also pioneering restrictions on livestreaming, stranger communications in gaming, and AI "romantic companion" chatbots for under-18s, with Ofcom enforcing age verification at the point of account creation.
Canada introduced Bill C-34 (the Safe Social Media Act) on June 10, 2026, which would temporarily prohibit accounts for under-16s and impose broad content-moderation duties on platforms, including AI chatbot services.
At least 19 U.S. states have enacted laws addressing minors' access to social media or "addictive feeds" as of April 2026, though litigation has created a patchwork landscape. North Carolina approved restrictions on June 9 banning accounts for children 13 and under, with parental approval required for 14- and 15-year-olds and fines up to $50,000 per violation. California is advancing a bill to prohibit account creation for under-16s on platforms with features like endless scrolling and autoplay. Virginia requires platforms to limit under-16s to one hour per day unless parents adjust settings.
What This Means for Malta Residents
While Malta does not yet have a specific national ban on social media for minors under 16, Momentum's proposal reflects a broader European trend that could soon influence local policy. Malta is bound by EU child safety frameworks, including enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates platforms to implement stricter protections for minors. If the European Commission proposes a binding bloc-wide social media ban—expected as early as summer 2026—Malta would be required to adopt it.
For parents and guardians, the debate is no longer theoretical. The UK's public consultation from March to May 2026 revealed that 9 out of 10 parents support a ban, reflecting widespread anxiety about the mental health toll of unregulated screen time. In Malta, where smartphone penetration among teens is high and English-language content dominates, the same concerns apply.
Practically, a ban would shift the burden from individual families—who currently struggle to enforce screen time limits—to platform operators, requiring them to verify users are 16 or over before allowing account creation or access. This could mean mandatory ID checks, biometric scans, or third-party age verification services, all of which raise privacy concerns for adults as well.
The Tech Industry's Counterarguments
Major platforms and industry groups like NetChoice are pushing back hard. Their core arguments:
• Bans drive children to less regulated spaces: Meta has warned that prohibitions risk "isolating teens from online communities and information, and driving them to unregulated alternatives that lack built-in protections and parental controls."
• Age verification threatens privacy: Implementing robust age checks could force adults to surrender government IDs or biometric data, creating security vulnerabilities and compromising the privacy of the entire population.
• The real problem is platform design, not access: Critics within the tech sector argue that the focus should be on regulating addictive features like infinite scrolling and algorithmic feeds, rather than restricting access. This approach, they say, would hold companies accountable instead of shifting the burden onto children and parents.
• Social media has positive aspects: Platforms can offer connection, community, and learning opportunities, particularly for young people who lack strong offline support systems.
Yet the Australian experience undercuts the industry's credibility. Despite assurances that existing safeguards would suffice, over 60% of underage users have circumvented the ban, often with minimal effort. This suggests that platforms are either unable or unwilling to enforce meaningful restrictions without regulatory coercion.
The Enforcement Challenge
Even the most ambitious legislative frameworks face a common obstacle: determined teenagers are adept at bypassing age gates. Fake birthdates, VPNs, and account-sharing are trivial workarounds. The UK's approach may offer a more robust model by placing the legal and financial burden directly on platforms, with Ofcom wielding the power to levy substantial fines for non-compliance. But until age verification technology becomes both foolproof and privacy-preserving—an engineering challenge that remains unsolved—enforcement will remain imperfect.
For Malta, the question is not whether to act, but when. As Momentum warns, waiting for tech companies to reform themselves has proven futile. The global wave of regulation is accelerating, and the evidence linking early social media use to measurable psychological harm continues to accumulate. Whether through national legislation or EU-wide mandates, the era of unrestricted underage access to algorithmic feeds is drawing to a close.
