The government has announced an overnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK — but teenagers will be able to switch it off themselves, prompting campaigners to accuse ministers of offering a "bottle of alcohol" just "slightly out of arms reach".
From midnight to 06:00, apps such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube will be blocked by default for older teens by a new automatic setting. The government also wants "addictive" features like auto-play and infinite scroll to be disabled, saying that together the measures will improve young people's focus, sleep quality and family life.
“UK government proposes social media curfew for teens but allows opt-out, sparking criticism from campaigners.”
But critics say the plan does not go far enough because the opt-out renders the curfew toothless. Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in 2022 in what she believes was an online challenge gone wrong, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I just think it's not good enough really just to have a product you can switch off, 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."
The new plans follow the announcement in June that under-16s in the UK would be banned entirely from a range of platforms. It adds to a complex — and potentially confusing — mix of policies and measures from the government and tech firms intended to keep young people safe online, including optional parental controls and child-only versions of sites such as YouTube.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has previously said it wants age verification to be handled by device manufacturers rather than platforms. Apple recently introduced such "device level" age checks, requiring users of iPhones and iPads with the latest software to verify their ages.
Baroness Kidron, a campaigner for safety measures at device rather than app level, told BBC Breakfast it should not be about "banning children from tech" but "banning tech from putting toxic products in the hands of children".
Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan defended the government's action, telling BBC Breakfast that the combination of the curfew and limiting auto-play meant "Britain is already going to be the most robust place in the world when it comes to regulating" tech companies. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said in a statement 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".