# UK plans default overnight social media block for 16- and 17-year-olds

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-uk-is-planning-a-social-media-curfew-for-16-and-17-year-olds/
- Published: 2026-07-15T03:32:52+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-15T09:47:18+00:00
- Original publisher: Wired
- Original article: https://www.wired.com/story/the-uk-is-planning-a-social-media-curfew-for-16-and-17-year-olds/
- Topics: Business, Markets, Software, Technology, Trending, UK, Weird & Viral, World

## Key points

- UK plans default overnight social media block for older teenagers
- Under-16 social media ban is expected from spring 2027
- Critics say age-gating risks restricting rights and access

## Summary

The UK government plans to make social media companies apply a default overnight block for 16- and 17-year-olds, preventing access between midnight and 6 am unless the setting is turned off. It also intends to introduce a broader ban on social media for under-16s from spring 2027 and to disable certain features seen as addictive by default for older teenagers. The proposals matter because they would expand state regulation of young people’s online activity, with ministers arguing the changes would support sleep, education and wellbeing.

The measures were announced by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and are due to be put before Parliament later this year, with the first full regulations expected to take effect in 2027. Features such as autoplay and personalised endless feeds would be switched off by default for 16- and 17-year-olds, though users could override them, and the government is also considering further protections around AI chatbots and digital media literacy in schools. The government says about nine in ten UK parents support a legal minimum age for social media, but civil liberties and rights groups have criticised age-gating as a blunt approach that can restrict access to information and free expression.

## Coverage

- [Wired: UK plans default overnight social media block for 16- and 17-year-olds](https://www.wired.com/story/the-uk-is-planning-a-social-media-curfew-for-16-and-17-year-olds/)
- [BBC Technology: Midnight social media curfew proposed for older UK teens](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c982857nlrlo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)

---
Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.