New plans will see 16 and 17-year-olds blocked from bingeing on social media sites between midnight and 6am by default
Britain is set to become the safest place for children to be online after Government safety boffins announced plans to roll out a social media curfew.
Plans unveiled on Wednesday will see 16 and 17-year-olds blocked from bingeing on social media sites between midnight and 6am by default.
The measures, announced by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, will also see addictive features such as auto scrolling and algorithmic feeds turned off.
On top of the social media ban for under-16s announced by Sir Keir Starmer last month, online safety minister Kanishka Narayan said the plans show the UK is “firmly on the side of” parents and families.
He said: “The big thing I’d say is this is part of an overall package that means Britain is now the safest place for young people in their experiences online.”
Mr Narayan also defended the plans from critics who questioned their effectiveness, given teenagers will be able to turn off features such as curfews, saying trials suggest 90% of them would not.
Families who took part in a government pilot involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the UK reported overnight curfews helped improve sleep and concentration, according to boffins.
Arguing the voluntary nature of the restrictions would help “empower” teenagers and avoid a “cliff edge” after children turn 16, Mr Narayan said: “The evidence base is clear, the motivation is very clear and I wouldn’t do the disservice to teenagers of saying they’re all going to switch it off.”
The proposals also include requiring under-18s to take regular breaks while using chatbots, and a crackdown on AI services that provide “dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice”, with ministers considering banning chatbots which pose a serious threat to children, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (Dsit) said.
New guidance for children, parents and guardians on safe AI use will be published, and media literacy teaching will be strengthened in schools from September.
Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza, welcomed the announcements as “a positive step” that responds to young people’s demand for more protection online.
She said: “Young people tell me they try to cut down social media use but find it hard – so restrictions on infinite-scrolling are welcome.
“I want to know more about how the policies, such as a curfew, will be delivered and will be watching closely to make sure they are effective – alongside pushing Ofcom to make full use of its powers to make the online world safer for children.”
The Conservatives described the plans as a “dog’s dinner” and called for a focus on banning social media for under-16s.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “Either they think 16 and 17-year-olds should be on social media or they don’t, but curfews they can simply switch off won’t achieve anything.
“Giving 16-year-olds the vote while putting them under a social media curfew makes no sense.
“They’re also rolling out AI tutors in schools for the most disadvantaged while announcing more lessons on dealing with dangers of AI chatbots.”
Meanwhile communications watchdog Ofcom said age checks were helping to make online experiences safer for UK kids but added that the ‘job (was) not done’ as they called on the tech industry to strengthen protections.
A new report by the group found age checks are now being deployed at an unprecedented scale across the pornography, social media, dating, and gaming sectors.
Authors said the proportion of children being asked to prove their age who encountered highly effective age checks increased from 25% to 43% between July 2025 and January 2026.
All of the UK’s top 10 and the majority of the top 100 porn sites now have age checks in place.