Overnight social media curfew proposed for 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK
From midnight to 6am, apps like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube could soon go dark for 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK. It’s part of a new government plan for an overnight social media curfew, although teens will be able to switch the apps back on through their account settings.
Ministers are also seeking to have “addictive” features such as infinite scroll and auto-play disabled by default. The changes are aimed at improving teens’ sleep, focus, and family time.
These proposals come on the heels of the full social media ban for under-16s that was announced last month and is set to take effect next spring.
The government’s plans have been met with a mixed response from child safety advocates. While some think that the settings’ easily reversible nature doesn’t offer genuine protection for vulnerable teens, others worry that a blanket curfew could prevent teens from connecting with support networks late at night.
Both Meta and Apple are already using in-house age-verification tools at the device level, and some campaigners believe that these form a better foundation for broader policies than relying on rules that vary by app.
For now, the government has no plans to restrict VPN use. Research indicates most children are not using them to bypass age checks, but the matter will be kept under review to see if the situation changes.
Additional measures are being planned for AI chatbots, including mandatory breaks for under-18s. The proposals are expected to be presented to Parliament before year’s end and could go into effect at the same time as the under-16s ban next spring.