---
title: "UK floats overnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds"
description: "The UK government is considering an overnight social media curfew for older teenagers, with apps blocked by default between midnight and 6am and 'infinite scrolling' switched off, as part of a wider drive to limit young people's time online. Critics note teens would be able to turn the limits off."
category: "Politics"
category_url: https://newsparlor.com/category/politics
author: "Aisha Carter"
published: 2026-07-14T22:26:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-14T22:26:00.000Z
canonical: https://newsparlor.com/article/uk-proposes-overnight-social-media-curfew-teens
tags: ["social-media", "online-safety", "teenagers", "uk-government", "ofcom"]
---
# UK floats overnight social media curfew for 16 and 17-year-olds

The UK government is considering an overnight social media curfew for older teenagers, with apps blocked by default between midnight and 6am and 'infinite scrolling' switched off, as part of a wider drive to limit young people's time online. Critics note teens would be able to turn the limits off.

Teenagers in the UK aged 16 and 17 could face an overnight curfew on social media under proposals being considered by the government, which would see apps blocked by default in the early hours and features designed to keep users scrolling switched off.

The technology secretary, Liz Kendall, set out the plans, under which default settings would prevent access to social media between midnight and 6am and disable "infinite scrolling", while building in breaks during the use of AI chatbots. The measures are aimed at older teenagers who would not be covered by a separate, stricter plan to bar under-16s from social media altogether.

## A proposal, not yet law

The overnight curfew is at this stage a proposal under consideration rather than settled policy, with the government promising further detail and regulations expected to go before Parliament later in the year. It sits alongside the government's headline commitment to [ban social media for under-16s from the spring of 2027](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/social-media-to-be-banned-for-under-16s-in-landmark-government-move-to-givekids-their-childhood-back), using age-assurance technology, covering platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and X.

Officials say the ideas draw on a trial involving hundreds of families, in which teenagers who faced tighter limits reported sleeping earlier and concentrating better at school. The communications regulator, Ofcom, would oversee enforcement under the framework of the Online Safety Act.

## Support and doubts

The government points to strong public backing, citing a consultation in which the large majority of parents supported restrictions on social media for under-16s. Supporters argue that curbing late-night use could ease pressure on young people's sleep and mental health.

But the proposals have drawn scepticism from several directions. Critics note that the overnight limits would be default settings that 16 and 17-year-olds could simply switch off, raising questions about how much difference they would make in practice. The children's charity the NSPCC gave the plans qualified backing, with its chief executive, Chris Sherwood, saying they "will go some way" to improving older teenagers' experiences online but warning they "will not be enough on their own" without action against the addictive design of platforms.

Others have questioned the consistency of the approach. Some opposition figures have argued that it sits awkwardly alongside moves to lower the voting age to 16, contending that the state should not treat 16-year-olds as mature enough to vote while restricting how they use their phones at night. The government says the two questions are separate, and that protecting children online justifies default safeguards even for older teenagers, who retain the ability to opt out.