Ofcom has set out its recommended ways of identifying which social media users are over 16, ahead of the UK ban for under-16s due in March 2027, which will cover ten of the biggest platforms including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat

Alongside traditional ID, Ofcom recommends four methods it says would be highly effective: photo ID matching, banking based checks, face age estimation and digital ID services

The measures are subject to government approval, with a decision due by the end of the year, and social media companies will decide how to implement checks

Meta has called for age checks at device level through app stores, but Ofcom says this would not remove social networks’ own duty to check

Ofcom acknowledges that circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated, and many children have bypassed a similar ban in Australia

The NSPCC and the Molly Rose Foundation welcomed the guidance, with the Molly Rose Foundation also criticising Ofcom’s enforcement record; BT’s Jonny Blunt said success depends on “regulators, tech companies, families, and educators” working together