The UK's social media ban for under-16s has just empowered big tech | Taylor Lorenz

The UK government's sweeping ban on social media access for users under 16, framed by Prime Minister Starmer as protecting children from negligent platforms, requires age verification at scale—a process that will funnel sensitive identity data through the very companies it purports to restrain. Critics argue the policy hands dominant platforms a structural advantage, since only the largest players have the infrastructure to implement compliant verification systems, effectively consolidating their gatekeeping power. The tradeoff between child safety and privacy, and between protection and access to information, deserves more honest public accounting than the policy has so far received.