Sixteen- and 17-year-olds in Britain will have their social media accounts automatically locked between midnight and 6am from next spring – unless they choose to override the setting. The government announced the overnight curfew for apps including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube, alongside plans to disable “addictive” features such as auto-play and infinite scroll, saying the measures would improve teenagers’ focus, sleep and family life. But critics, including the mother of a 14-year-old who died in an online challenge, called the opt-out provision a fatal flaw.
Ellen Roome, whose son Jools Sweeney died in 2022, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that allowing teenagers to switch the block off made it meaningless. “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 said. “I really wish they could go stronger and harder on these things.”
“Government announces midnight curfew for 16-17 year olds on social media, campaigners call it a 'missed opportunity' as teens can opt out.”
Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University, told the BBC the measure was designed to target apprehensions from parents and child safety groups. “There have been concerns about the way services keep children and young people engaged on their phones for long periods, and that this can impact their sleep, amongst other effects,” she said.
Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan defended the action on BBC One’s Breakfast programme, arguing that the combination of the curfew and limiting addictive features would help protect young people. Baroness Kidron, a long-time campaigner for safety measures, was critical, telling BBC Breakfast that the focus should not be “banning children from tech” but “banning tech from putting toxic products in the hands of children”.
The curfew adds to a complex mix of policies, including a total ban for under-16s announced in June, optional parental controls and child-only versions of sites such as YouTube. Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, has said it wants age verification handled by device manufacturers rather than platforms; Apple recently introduced “device level” age checks on iPhones and iPads.
The young people themselves were unconvinced. Harvey, 16, from the south-east, told the Guardian 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 his own phone switches off at 10pm but he can negotiate exceptions with his parents – something not all teenagers can do. “Having to verify your age … sort of removes this idea of an anonymous internet,” he added.
The government insists the measures will improve teenagers’ lives, but with the default block so easily overridden, the question is how many will choose to keep it in place.
