LONDON (AP) — The British government announced plans Wednesday to introduce a six-hour social media curfew from midnight for 16- and 17-year-olds — though they will be able to override the proposed default setting.In its latest attempt to reduce the risks of online harm for children, Britain’s Labour government also said that features that can keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that automatically play one after another, will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.The planned restrictions come a month after the government unveiled a social media ban for under-16s, which is expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, from next spring.The measures, which are one of the final acts of the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, will have to be legislated upon. It is widely believed that his expected successor Andy Burnham will follow through with the plans.Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan downplayed talk that teenagers would just turn off optional social media curfews, saying it is a “disservice” to them to suggest they would.
He pointed to a recent pilot program involving more than 300 teenagers and parents across the U.K. that saw social media usage drop dramatically overnight as well as helping improve sleep and concentration.
