The UK government has proposed a default overnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds, which would block apps such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube from midnight until 06:00 unless teenagers choose to switch the setting off. Ministers say the change, alongside disabling features such as auto-play and infinite scroll by default, is intended to improve sleep, concentration and family life. The proposal matters because it marks a further tightening of UK rules on young people’s online use, while also raising questions about how effective protections are if older teenagers can opt out.

The plan follows a June announcement that under-16s in the UK would be banned entirely from a range of platforms, with the new measures expected to be laid before Parliament by the end of 2026 and introduced alongside that ban next spring. Critics including campaigner Ellen Roome and Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott argue the curfew does not go far enough because it can be disabled, while some child safety groups say the approach is too fragmented. The government also said it wants AI chatbot providers to build in regular breaks for under-18s, as part of a broader push to regulate digital products used by children and teenagers.