The government's new social media curfew for older teenagers – a midnight-to-6am block on apps like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – will be switched on by default but can be turned off with a change of account settings, a loophole that critics and teenagers alike have branded pointless.
The measure, announced on 14 July, applies to 16- and 17-year-olds from next spring. The government also wants “addictive” features such as autoplay and infinite scroll disabled, saying the combination will improve focus, sleep and family life.
“Government's social media curfew for 16-17 year olds can be turned off, prompting campaigners and teenagers to call it ineffective.”
But Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in an online challenge gone wrong in 2022, 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.” She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she wished the government “could go stronger and harder on these things”.
Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University, said the measure was designed to target “apprehensions from parents and child safety groups”. She cited concerns that services keep young people engaged for long periods, impacting sleep.
Teenagers themselves were dismissive. Harvey, 16, from the south-east, said the opt-out nature “renders the whole thing meaningless, because if someone is addicted to Instagram and there’s a curfew but they can turn it off, they will turn it off”. He said he spends one to two hours daily on social media and has parental restrictions that switch his phone off at 10pm, but he can negotiate exceptions – such as watching a late England game or using YouTube for GCSE revision. He also raised concerns about age verification undermining the anonymous internet.
Baroness Kidron, a long-time campaigner, said the focus should be on “banning tech from putting toxic products in the hands of children” rather than “banning children from tech”. Meta has previously said it wants age verification handled by device manufacturers; Apple recently introduced device-level age checks.
Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan defended the government's action on BBC Breakfast.
The curfew adds to a growing patchwork of policies – including a total ban for under-16s announced in June, optional parental controls, and child-only versions of popular sites – but the ease with which teenagers can bypass it leaves the question of whether the measure will change behaviour or merely generate frustration.