The UK government has unveiled plans to introduce voluntary overnight social media curfews and shut down infinite scrolling for 16- and 17-year-olds, as part of broader restrictions on social media for children. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced the measures, which will see default settings prevent access to social media apps between midnight and 6am for older teenagers. Features designed to keep users engaged, such as never-ending video reels and algorithmic feeds, will be automatically turned off by default.
Details of the Proposed Measures
Under the plans, 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to switch off these default settings, a fact that has led critics to question the effectiveness of the proposals. The government's wider restrictions include a social media ban for under-16s, announced last month, which is expected to cover platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, but not messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal, starting next spring. The announcement came days before the Makerfield by-election, but key details will be determined by the incoming prime minister Andy Burnham.
Kendall stated that the measures will help ensure that under-18s accessing social media apps for the first time are not suddenly exposed to the most addictive features. She said in a statement: "Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike – even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing. These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life. We want young people to enjoy the benefits of technology while having the tools to make the online world a place where they can thrive."
Government Pilot Shows Benefits
A government pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK reported that overnight curfews helped improve sleep and concentration, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Dsit). The department also noted that Kendall wants to introduce new safeguards for children using artificial intelligence. These include requiring under-18s to take regular breaks while using chatbots and cracking down on AI services that provide "dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice." Ministers are considering banning chatbots that pose a serious threat to children, Dsit said.
New guidance for children, parents, and guardians on safe AI use will be published, and media literacy teaching will be strengthened in schools from September.
Criticism from Opposition and Experts
Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott criticized the plans, saying: "This is another dog's dinner from Labour. Either they think 16 and 17-year-olds should be on social media or they don't, but curfews they can simply switch off won't achieve anything. Giving 16-year-olds the vote while putting them under a social media curfew makes no sense. They're also rolling out AI tutors in schools for the most disadvantaged while announcing more lessons on dealing with dangers of AI chatbots. They should stop tinkering and get on with getting under-16s off social media."
NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood commented: "These proposed safety measures for 16 and 17-year-olds will go some way to improving the experiences of young people on social media – particularly having autoplay and functions that recommend content turned off by default and a curfew. But the proposals will not be enough on their own. Unless they're followed up with further, stronger measures they will be a sticking plaster that fails to address the addictive design features which are driving high screentime and undermining children's wellbeing."
Children's Commissioner and Other Reactions
Children's Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said: "We have to listen to young people. They don't want a ban, but they do want to be protected from addictive, infinite scrolling; dangerous strangers trying to chat to them and explicit content they wished they hadn't seen. I have called for action to protect children up to 18 and today's announcement is a positive step. Young people tell me they try to cut down social media use but find it hard – so restrictions on infinite-scrolling are welcome. I want to know more about how the policies, such as a curfew, will be delivered and will be watching closely to make sure they are effective – alongside pushing Ofcom to make full use of its powers to make the online world safer for children."
Colette Collins-Walsh from the 5Rights Foundation said: "Social media bans and curfews only manage exposure to risk. They do nothing to incentivise change in a tech industry built on capturing children's attention. The Government has promised children a good childhood in the digital age. That means requiring safe and age-appropriate design across all the digital products and services children use, at home, school and everything in between."
Andy Lulham, chief operating officer at online safety provider Verifymy, noted that the default setting for the overnight limit for 16- and 17-year-olds "will ask the most of platforms technically, since they'll now need to identify and apply different rules to three distinct groups – the under-16s being banned from next spring, older adolescents, and adults with full, open access." He added: "None of this will work without robust age assurance underpinning it. A default can only do its job if a platform knows, reliably, that a user is 16 or 17."
