From: Lord Lieutenant's Office, Chief Minister's Office, 10 Harrington Court, The Rt Hon OfficerEethCoth121

Published 15 June 2026

The Government is aware of today’s UK Government announcement concerning under-16 access to social media platforms, livestreaming features and online services where children may interact with strangers, including gaming-related services.

This announcement is directly relevant to the United Hampshire Realm.

The community currently operates through platform infrastructure, including Roblox, Discord and public communication channels. Any change affecting under-16 access to social media, video-sharing platforms, livestreaming, online communication, gaming interaction or age-verification requirements may affect recruitment, public activity, roleplay sessions, safeguarding, Member communication, democratic participation and the future operating model of the community.

At this stage, not all operational details have been published. Further information is expected next month, including how the rules will apply to existing under-16 accounts, future under-16 users, specific platforms, communication features, gaming services, livestreaming, age verification and enforcement.

The Government will therefore not make a rushed decision today on closure, reopening, elections or long-term participation arrangements.

The transition will continue.

Before this announcement, the Government was already close to completing the current transition work needed to move from establishment planning toward the next stage of implementation. That work was already being adapted in response to Roblox platform changes, including age, chat and access changes that affect session-based roleplay, safeguarding, supervision, communication and cross-age participation.

The UK Government announcement now creates a further external change affecting the same operating environment. It was not available in operational detail before today, and the Government could not responsibly prepare a settled operational response before the UK Government position became public.

As a result, the transition must now be adapted again. This does not mean the transition has been abandoned, or that United Hampshire has stopped progressing. It means the Government must respond to the operating environment as it exists, not the operating environment that existed when the transition began.

The Government must respond to those changes properly, rather than reopening on assumptions that may no longer be lawful, safe or workable.

The current work to establish Government, departmental responsibility, safeguarding routes, official records, review mechanisms, Membership arrangements, communications discipline and democratic preparation remains necessary. This announcement reinforces the need for the community to operate through proper public administration rather than informal platform management.

However, the Government must also be honest with Members. The previous assumption that the community can rely on open social-media promotion, open Roblox activity and unrestricted under-16 participation can no longer be treated as a safe planning baseline. That assumption will now be reviewed through the transition.

The Government also recognises that this issue has a particular operational effect on the community. Some younger Members aged 13 to 15 have built up years of experience, knowledge, responsibility and institutional memory within United Hampshire and its predecessor arrangements. Their contribution cannot simply be replaced by assuming that older Members will be equally available, equally engaged or equally familiar with Roblox-based civic activity.

The community is not an open public social media service. It is a constitutional and civic system that currently depends on platform infrastructure. Within that system, safeguarding, reporting and escalation routes are treated as part of public responsibility. Members are encouraged to report bullying, grooming, manipulation, coercion, exploitation, harassment or unsafe contact to the relevant United Hampshire bodies, to trusted responsible adults in real life, and to platforms or law enforcement where appropriate.

That distinction matters. In many wider online spaces, under-16 users may be exposed to harm without clear responsible adults, reliable reporting routes, meaningful follow-up or a serious duty-of-care culture. The Government has sought to operate United Hampshire differently.

However, the Government does not claim that this removes wider online risk, replaces parents or carers, or exempts the community from UK law or platform rules. The wider concerns behind the UK Government’s announcement are real. Harmful content, unsafe contact, exploitation, addictive design, excessive screen time and weak platform safeguards have created serious concerns for parents, carers, safeguarding organisations and Government. United Hampshire may be an unusual case, but it cannot ignore restrictions introduced because of wider online harms.

The Government also recognises that online safety is not only about immediate danger or unsafe contact. It also includes excessive screen time, addictive design, pressure to remain constantly active, and the effect of online participation on education, wellbeing, rest and life outside the community.

Since 2018, United Hampshire has operated through scheduled and time-limited sessions, events, trainings and shifts rather than an always-on activity model. This was a deliberate decision. The Government and predecessor leadership were repeatedly challenged over the years by Members who wanted looser scheduling or the ability for Members to play freely for as long as they wished. That position was not adopted, because the priority was not game growth, constant activity or maximising time spent online.

The priority was wellbeing, education, safety, safeguarding and sustainable participation.

Role-holders were expected to contribute through proportionate attendance expectations, while ordinary Members were not placed under the same obligations. The purpose was to allow the community to function without encouraging Members, especially younger Members, to spend excessive time online or to feel pressured into constant participation.

That approach is different from engagement models used by some online platforms and communities, where activity, visibility, rewards or status may depend on prolonged use, repeated checking or constant availability. The Government has sought to avoid that model.

The Government does not make this point to claim moral superiority over other communities or platforms. The point is that United Hampshire has long recognised many of the same concerns that parents, carers, safeguarding organisations and the UK Government are now raising.

Online spaces can be harmful when they are built around constant engagement, addictive design, weak reporting routes, unsafe contact, poor supervision, pressure to remain active or systems that reward users for spending as much time online as possible. The Government has never wanted to build that kind of community.

Before this announcement, the transition had already been developing work around stronger safety, safeguarding, online safety, education, reporting routes, prevention, escalation and enforcement. The aim was for the community to operate as a safer and more responsible civic system, and, where possible, to set a model that other communities could learn from if they chose to do so.

However, the Government also recognises the wider reality. United Hampshire is only one community operating within a much larger online environment. Many of the harms that have led to UK Government action occur across open platforms, public social media spaces, livestreaming services, gaming communities and other online environments far beyond the Government’s control.

That is why the Government accepts that the concerns behind the announcement are real, even though the effect on the community may be severe. The UK Government, parents and safeguarding organisations are responding to a wider internet environment where, in many cases, the risks to children and young people have outweighed the benefits.

The Government will not encourage unlawful workarounds, false-age access, VPN evasion or attempts to bypass UK law or platform rules. If a platform, feature or activity becomes unavailable to under-16s by law or platform policy, the Government will treat that route as unavailable for the operation of the community.

The response to this announcement will be considered as part of the wider transition and Government planning now underway. It will require input from the Lord Lieutenant’s Office, Cabinet Office, Platform Office, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, Department for Culture, Media & Recreation, Department of Wellbeing and Civic Care, Interior Office, Department for Education, Department for Work & Skills, Ministry of Justice, Attorney General’s Office, MICLG, England Office and other relevant departments or bodies where their remits are affected.

A fuller statement and programme response will follow once further operational detail is available and once the relevant ministerial departments and offices are in place to conduct the necessary assessment.

OfficerEethCoth121, Lord Lieutenant of United Hampshire, acting in the temporary capacity of Chief Minister, said:

“Today’s announcement directly affects the United Hampshire community and the way online civic systems like ours may be able to operate in future.

“We will not pretend this is a minor issue. The community depends on online platform infrastructure, and any restriction affecting under-16 access, livestreaming, gaming communication or social-media activity must be taken seriously.

“But we will also not make decisions in panic. The transition will continue, and the Government will assess the impact properly once further detail is published.

“I also want to speak directly to younger Members.

“I know that many people come to United Hampshire because they struggle socially, feel anxious, feel isolated, or find it easier to connect online than in the physical world. I understand that personally. When I was around 13 to 16, online communities could be places to make friends, build confidence, learn responsibility and feel part of something.

“So I understand why this announcement may feel frightening, unfair or like another door closing.

“You are not wrong to feel that.

“At the same time, I also understand why parents, carers and safeguarding organisations are worried. The concerns behind this announcement are serious. Harmful content, unsafe contact, exploitation, pressure, addictive design, excessive screen time and poor safeguards have affected too many children and young people.

“The Government has tried to operate the community differently. We have used scheduled activity, proportionate expectations, safeguarding routes, reporting routes and a focus on wellbeing, education and safety. That has not always been popular, but it has always been deliberate.

“However, United Hampshire is only one community within a much larger online environment. We cannot ignore the wider harms that have caused the UK Government, parents and safeguarding organisations to reach this point.

“The Government will respond seriously, calmly and lawfully. We will continue the transition, adapt our planning, complete the minimum institutions needed for proper decision-making, and then consult Members properly once Membership reset, Government formation, review routes and temporary scrutiny arrangements are in place.

“United Hampshire is not closing today. The Government is not ignoring this announcement. The transition will continue while the Government reviews what this means for Members, platforms, safeguarding responsibilities and the future operating model of the community.”

Next steps

The Government will now:

• continue the transition;

• adapt current transition planning to take account of the UK Government announcement;

• monitor further UK Government detail expected next month;

• assess the implications for Roblox, Discord, livestreaming, social-media communication and gaming interaction;

• review the effect on under-16 participation, 16+ participation, recruitment and future democratic arrangements;

• consider the interests of younger Members, parents and carers, safeguarding responsibilities, legal compliance and platform rules together;

• avoid unlawful or platform-prohibited workarounds;

• prepare a fuller response once the operational position is clearer;

• consult Members after Government formation, Membership reset, review routes and temporary scrutiny arrangements are in place.

This announcement may affect the operating model of the community. It does not remove the need for lawful Government, safeguarding, records, legal assurance, Membership arrangements, public communications or democratic preparation.

Further reading and source reporting

Members can read more about the announcement and the wider policy background here:

• GOV.UK announcement on under-16 social media restrictions

• GOV.UK consultation on children’s online safety, social media, gaming platforms and AI chatbots

• Reuters report on the UK under-16 social media announcement

• Reuters explainer on how the UK ban may work 

• Guardian explainer on affected apps and expected implementation 

• House of Commons Library briefing on proposals to ban social media for children 

The Government will rely on official UK Government information and platform guidance when making operational decisions. News reporting is linked so Members can understand the public context behind this statement.