UK plans overnight social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds by 2027
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UK plans overnight social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds by 2027
UK to impose default midnight-to-6 AM social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds next spring
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The British government on Wednesday announced plans for a voluntary overnight social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds, aiming to reduce online harm among young people. The curfew will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, but not to messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
Features that can keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that automatically play one after another, will also be switched off by default for older teenagers. The measures are among the final initiatives of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government and will require legislation before they take effect. The proposals are widely expected to be carried forward by his likely successor, Andy Burnham.
Critics have questioned the effectiveness of the measures, arguing that teenagers would simply switch off the default settings. However, UK Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan dismissed this suggestion, citing a recent pilot program involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK that saw social media usage drop dramatically overnight and helped improve sleep and concentration.
“In October, for example, some platforms introduced these defaults of this sort – 90%-plus teenagers said to us that they’ve maintained those defaults as well,” Narayan told Sky News. “And so the evidence base is clear, the motivation is very clear and I wouldn’t do the disservice to teenagers of saying they’re all going to switch it off.”
The NSPCC, the UK's leading children's charity, said the proposals will go some way to improving the experiences of young people on social media but that they 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,” said NSPCC chief executive Chris Sherwood.
Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, said the move was a “positive step” as young people want to try to cut down social media use but find it hard. “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,” she said.
The measures are expected to go into force by Spring 2027. The UK government had previously announced a blanket social media ban for teens under the age of 16 in June. The debate over access restrictions for children and young people on social media platforms has gained momentum in recent months, with many countries introducing or considering similar measures.
In June, outgoing UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a blanket social media ban for teens under the age of 16. It followed Australia becoming the first country in the world to enforce a legal ban in December. The UK's ban would apply to platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X.
Tech giants are under intense scrutiny as governments worldwide ramp up protections for children on social media. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Monday that the region will move forward with age restrictions on social media platforms to curb young people's usage.
Ali Law, TikTok's director of public policy and government affairs in Northern Europe, defended the platform, saying it's designed with safety in mind, in a conversation with CNBC's Karen Tso and Steve Sedgewick on Tuesday. He pointed out that TikTok had over 50 preset safety settings for anyone under the age of 16, including a one-hour screen time limit and a 10 p.m.
The British government's proposal comes as many countries, including Australia, France, and Italy, have introduced or considered similar measures to restrict children's access to social media. In Germany, Families Minister Karin Prien has called for a social media ban for children under 13.
The measures announced on Wednesday are expected to be introduced into Parliament by the end of the year and come into force in Spring 2027. The affected companies, including Meta and TikTok, have not yet commented on the proposals.
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Articles
Midnight social media curfew and limits to infinite scrolling proposed for older UK teens The U.K. government has proposed new measures to protect older teens on social media, including a midnight curfew and a limit to infinite scrolling.
cnbc · about 4 hours ago
UK unveils plans for voluntary overnight social media curfew for older teens The ban will apply to platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
euronews · about 4 hours ago
UK proposes a midnight social media curfew for older teens The UK government has proposed a midnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds, plus limits on infinite scrolling. The UK social media curfew would switch on by default, though teens could turn it off. The government set out the measures on Wednesday, as CNBC first reported. It said the plan aims to protect older […] This story continues at The Next Web
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