Exclusive: Social media companies will be required to implement “hard checks” on people’s ages such as demanding passports or driving licences under plans to stop children from using their platforms The government is due to announce plans for a social media ban for under-16s in the coming weeks amid concerns that children are being exposed to harmful content Ministers want to take a harder line on age verification to ensure that children are not using the platforms after concerns that a similar social media ban in Australia has had little impact Under plans being considered by ministers, those using the sites will be required to submit their passports or driving licences or undergo credit checks to verify their age The Australian government admitted this year that more than 70 per cent of under-16s still had “some access” to platforms three months after the law changed in December 2025 Children reported that it was “easy” to circumvent the ban. They are only required to undergo basic screening — where users take a selfie and artificial intelligence estimates their age — to access platforms if they do not wish to upload official documents. In the most brazen cases, children were able to bypass the restrictions by drawing beards onto their faces Others have resorted to using virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass checks by pretending they are based in another country, or pointing their phone’s camera at a screen showing an adult-looking face