Teenagers in the UK aged 16 and 17 will face an overnight social media curfew under government plans announced on Tuesday – but the measures have been branded a “missed opportunity” by campaigners who say they are too easy to bypass.
Under the proposals, apps including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube would be set to become unavailable by default between midnight and 06:00, the government said. Addictive features such as auto-play and infinite scroll would also be disabled by default, with ministers arguing the combined changes would improve teenagers’ focus, sleep quality and family life.
“UK government proposes midnight-to-6am social media curfew for 16-17 year olds, but campaigners say it does not go far enough.”
However, teenagers will be able to opt out of the curfew by changing their account settings. That has drawn sharp criticism from Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in 2022 in what she believes was an online challenge gone wrong.
“I just think it's not good enough really just to have a product you can switch off,” Roome told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “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 announcement follows the government’s June decision to ban under-16s entirely from a range of platforms, adding to a complex mix of policies and optional parental controls intended to keep young people safe online.
Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University, told the BBC the measure appeared designed to target parental apprehensions. “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.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has previously argued that age verification should be handled by device manufacturers rather than platforms alone. Apple recently introduced such “device level” age checks, requiring iPhone and iPad users with the latest software to verify their ages.
Baroness Kidron, a longtime campaigner for device-level safety measures, was critical of the government’s approach. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said the focus should not be on “banning children from tech” but on “banning tech from putting toxic products in the hands of children”.
Online safety minister Kanishka Narayan defended the action on BBC Breakfast, arguing that the combination of the curfew and restrictions on addictive features would make a meaningful difference. Whether the opt-out clause undermines that remains the central unresolved question.