The UK government will require social media platforms to impose default overnight curfews and switch off autoplay and infinite-scroll features for 16 and 17-year-olds, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced on July 15, extending child online safety measures the government outlined last month for users under 16.
Under the plan, apps including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube will be made unavailable by default between midnight and 6 a.m. for older teenagers, and features designed to extend session time will be disabled unless users choose to turn them back on. The government said the changes build on a ban on social media access for under-16s starting next spring, closing what it called a “cliff edge” in protections as teenagers age into the platforms.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the measures respond directly to a public consultation. “Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike – even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing,” she said, adding that the changes would help teenagers “get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends.”
The government cited a pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents that found overnight curfews improved sleep and concentration, and said the first regulations will go before Parliament by the end of the year, taking effect alongside the under-16 ban in spring 2027.
The rules stop short of a hard restriction. Teenagers can switch the settings back on themselves, a design choice that has drawn criticism from child safety advocates. Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son died in 2022 in what she believes was an online challenge, told BBC Radio 4 the opt-out undercuts the policy: “It’s a bit like offering a 17-year-old a bottle of alcohol and then moving it slightly out of arm’s reach; they can just drag it back in.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, called the announcement “yet another piecemeal set of announcements, not the comprehensive plan for children’s safety that’s required.” Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott described the package as a “dog’s dinner,” arguing that curfews “they can simply switch off won’t achieve anything.”
The government also confirmed it will not restrict VPN use, which has undermined age-verification enforcement in other markets such as Australia. Officials said research they commissioned found little evidence that VPNs are widely used by children to bypass age checks, though ministers said they would continue to review the issue.
Alongside the social media measures, DSIT outlined plans for AI chatbot safeguards for under-18s, including mandatory regular breaks and potential restrictions on chatbots that provide dangerous, misleading, or unverified mental health advice, with new guidance for parents to follow through an expanded Kids Online Safety Hub.
The curfew announcement follows the government’s June proposal to bar under-16s from social media and livestreaming platforms entirely, a plan that drew opposition from the Trump administration, which argued platform-level bans impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American technology companies and pushed for parental controls instead.
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The UK government will require social media platforms to impose default overnight curfews and switch off autoplay and infinite-scroll features for 16 and 17-year-olds, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced on July 15, extending child online safety measures the government outlined last month for users under 16.
Under the plan, apps including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube will be made unavailable by default between midnight and 6 a.m. for older teenagers, and features designed to extend session time will be disabled unless users choose to turn them back on. The government said the changes build on a ban on social media access for under-16s starting next spring, closing what it called a “cliff edge” in protections as teenagers age into the platforms.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the measures respond directly to a public consultation. “Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike – even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing,” she said, adding that the changes would help teenagers “get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends.”
The government cited a pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents that found overnight curfews improved sleep and concentration, and said the first regulations will go before Parliament by the end of the year, taking effect alongside the under-16 ban in spring 2027.
The rules stop short of a hard restriction. Teenagers can switch the settings back on themselves, a design choice that has drawn criticism from child safety advocates. Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son died in 2022 in what she believes was an online challenge, told BBC Radio 4 the opt-out undercuts the policy: “It’s a bit like offering a 17-year-old a bottle of alcohol and then moving it slightly out of arm’s reach; they can just drag it back in.”
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, called the announcement “yet another piecemeal set of announcements, not the comprehensive plan for children’s safety that’s required.” Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott described the package as a “dog’s dinner,” arguing that curfews “they can simply switch off won’t achieve anything.”
The government also confirmed it will not restrict VPN use, which has undermined age-verification enforcement in other markets such as Australia. Officials said research they commissioned found little evidence that VPNs are widely used by children to bypass age checks, though ministers said they would continue to review the issue.
Alongside the social media measures, DSIT outlined plans for AI chatbot safeguards for under-18s, including mandatory regular breaks and potential restrictions on chatbots that provide dangerous, misleading, or unverified mental health advice, with new guidance for parents to follow through an expanded Kids Online Safety Hub.
The curfew announcement follows the government’s June proposal to bar under-16s from social media and livestreaming platforms entirely, a plan that drew opposition from the Trump administration, which argued platform-level bans impose disproportionate compliance burdens on American technology companies and pushed for parental controls instead.
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