The UK government is preparing regulations to ban social media use by teenagers aged 16-17 after midnight, alongside measures banning social media use by children under 16, expected to start next year.
BBC News reported on 15 Jul 2026 that the UK government announced a new plan to regulate social media use among 16- and 17-year-olds by imposing a "curfew" that prohibits this age group from using social media from midnight until morning, aiming to help youth rest fully and reduce screen addiction.
The UK government wants popular apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube to be set by default to be inaccessible between 24:00 and 06:00 for users in this age group, and to disable time-consuming features like auto-play videos and infinite scroll feeds.
The government stated this measure will help teenagers concentrate better, sleep more soundly, and spend more time with their families.
However, a major loophole is that teenagers can disable the curfew mode themselves through their account settings, prompting strong criticism from campaigners, academics, and politicians who view the measure as "too weak and ineffective."
Opposition parties and online safety advocates say allowing teens to turn off the curfew mode makes the rule pointless, comparing it to handing a bottle of alcohol to a 17-year-old and placing it just out of reach, only for the child to simply reach and take it anyway.
A professor specializing in children's digital rights warned that blocking communication channels overnight could harm children facing mental health issues or needing urgent help during crises, as they would be unable to contact anyone.
Meanwhile, analysts say this is not a real “curfew” but merely an "annoying setting reminder bundled with government press materials."
Additionally, the UK government has no plan to address VPN usage despite concerns that children use VPNs to mask their identities and evade the law, because VPNs also serve privacy and operational needs for some vulnerable groups.
Tech giant Meta, which operates Facebook and Instagram, suggested that age verification should be handled by device manufacturers (such as Apple or Google) rather than individual apps. Apple has already started implementing device-level age detection in its latest operating system versions.
The UK government aims to submit this bill to Parliament by the end of 2026 for enforcement alongside the ban on social media use by children under 16 in the spring of the following year.
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Source:bbc