“Ineffective and unnecessary”: UK government proposes midnight curfew on social media for 16 and 17 year olds, but there is an easy loophole

UK proposes social media curfew for 16 and 17 year olds
Access would be blocked from midnight to 6 a.m. by default
However, teens will be able to change these settings if they wish.

Having already announced plans to ban under-16s from accessing social media apps early next year, the UK government is now proposing a midnight curfew on social media for young people aged 16 and 17 – although parents appear less impressed with the latter idea.

As the BBC reports, the suggested curfew would apply between midnight and 6 a.m., and would be combined with disabling certain “addictive” features in apps like Instagram and TikTok at all times of the day. These features would include, for example, infinite scrolling and auto-playing videos when loading.

The measures will be “crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, concentrate on school and university and spend more quality time with family and friends”, according to Technology Secretary Liz Kendall. They also aim to provide a gentler “on-ramp” to these apps for 16-year-olds, who previously had no access to them.

Teenagers can unsubscribe

Keir Starmer to announce midnight social media curfew for teenagers
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There are not many details in the government’s announcement, so questions regarding the mechanisms and timing remain unanswered. It is possible that the target date is the same as the social media ban for under-16s – in the spring (March, April, May) in the UK.

What is different from the social media ban is that curfew times and removal of addictive features will be optional. Although the government will require app developers to apply these restrictions by default, teens will have the option to turn them off if they wish.

Reactions on Reddit suggest the measures will end up being “ineffective and unnecessary”, with one poster comparing them to speed limit warnings for cars – very easy to ignore. Commenters also point out that this could require more age verification and that there are already parental control tools to block children’s access to social media at certain times.

“How is it the government’s responsibility to know what time someone uses social media?” one article read, while another questioned allowing 16-year-olds to join the military but not letting them appear on social media after midnight.

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