The UK government will ban under-16s from social media, with regulations due before Christmas and the rules taking effect in spring 2027. To enforce it, platforms must age-check their users. In practice that means anyone opening a new account will likely have to prove they're over 16 by uploading an ID or passing a facial age scan, the same methods already required to access adult sites under the Online Safety Act. Long-standing accounts are largely exempt, but signing up fresh now triggers veri...