The United Kingdom government has announced plans to introduce a midnight social media curfew for teenagers aged 16 and 17 as part of wider efforts to improve young people’s wellbeing and online safety.
Under the proposal, social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube would, by default, become unavailable to users in the age group between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Teenagers would, however, be able to disable the restriction by changing their account settings.
The government also wants technology companies to switch off features such as auto-play and infinite scrolling by default for older teenagers, arguing that the measures will improve sleep quality, boost concentration in school and college, and encourage more time with family and friends.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall described the proposals as an important step towards creating a healthier digital environment for young people.
She said the measures would 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.”
The latest announcement follows the government’s decision in June to ban children under the age of 16 from using a range of social media platforms. The proposed curfew would complement that policy and forms part of broader plans to strengthen online protections for children and teenagers.
Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan defended the proposals, saying the combination of an overnight curfew and restrictions on addictive platform features would make Britain one of the strongest regulators of technology companies in the world.
The government also plans to introduce new safeguards for children using artificial intelligence chatbots, including requiring providers to encourage regular breaks for users under the age of 18.
However, the proposals have drawn mixed reactions from campaigners, child safety experts and opposition politicians.
Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in 2022 after what she believes was an online challenge gone wrong, argued that allowing teenagers to switch off the curfew would significantly reduce its effectiveness.
“I just think it’s not good enough really just to have a product you can switch off,” she said. “It’s a bit like offering a 17-year-old a bottle of alcohol and then moving it slightly out of arms reach. They can just drag it back in. I really wish they could go stronger and harder on these things.”
Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott dismissed the proposals as a “dog’s dinner”, arguing that optional curfews would achieve little if teenagers could simply disable them.
Child safety organisations also questioned whether the measures would provide meaningful protection.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said the government had introduced another piecemeal approach rather than a comprehensive strategy for protecting children online.
Experts also warned that an overnight restriction could have unintended consequences.
Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics said limiting social media access could prevent vulnerable young people from seeking help or emotional support during the night.
“If it’s a curfew on companies using push notifications to wake someone up in the night, absolutely have a curfew,” she said. “But if it’s a curfew that prevents a child in need of support or help or comfort reaching out to trusted sources in the middle of the night, I think that’s quite harmful potentially.”
Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza said young people wanted stronger protection from addictive online features rather than an outright ban. She added that the effectiveness of any curfew would depend on how it was implemented.
Social media analyst Matt Navarra was also sceptical, describing the proposal as “not a curfew” but “a mildly annoying settings prompt with a government press release attached.”
The government confirmed it would not introduce restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs), despite concerns that young people could use them to bypass age checks. Officials said VPNs also serve legitimate purposes, including protecting privacy and supporting whistle-blowers, and current evidence suggests relatively few children use them to evade online safety measures.
The proposed legislation is expected to be presented to Parliament before the end of 2026. If approved, the measures would come into force alongside the planned social media ban for children under 16 next spring.
(BBC News)
