UK announces voluntary overnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated these measures are designed to help young people get sufficient sleep, focus on education, and spend more quality time with family and friends. The default settings will block access for older teenagers between midnight and 6 am, and features like never-ending video reels will be automatically switched off. However, critics question the effectiveness of these measures, as 16 and 17-year-olds can disable the default settings.

This plan follows a broader social media ban for under-16s announced last month by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's government, expected to cover platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, but not messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal, from next spring. Andy Burnham, who is set to become prime minister after winning the Makerfield by-election, will be responsible for the policy's details. Kendall is also advocating for new safeguards for children using artificial intelligence, including requiring regular breaks for under-18s using chatbots and cracking down on AI services offering dangerous or misleading mental health advice.

Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott criticized the plan, calling it "another dog’s dinner from Labour" and arguing that curfews teenagers can easil