The United Kingdom's Labour administration announced on Wednesday, July 16th, 2026, a new measure to protect minors from digital harm by proposing a voluntary overnight social media curfew for older teenagers. The plan outlines a six-hour default lockout from midnight to 6 a.m. for 16- and 17-year-olds on popular platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

In addition to the curfew, highly engaging features such as autoplay videos and infinite scrolling would be disabled by default for this age group to promote better sleep and focus. This initiative follows a June announcement by outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who revealed a blanket ban on social media use for children under 16, set to take effect in 2027.

While the under-16 group faces a strict prohibition, the government opted for a softer, voluntary approach for older adolescents. Narayan, citing data from pilot schemes and voluntary platform trials, noted that over 90 percent of teenagers kept the restrictive default settings active, emphasizing the intent to empower teenagers.

However, some critics remain skeptical. Trott, speaking to the Associated Press, stated, “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.”

The responsibility for implementing these measures is expected to fall to Keir Starmer's anticipated successor, Andy Burnham, as these represent some of the final legislative steps of Starmer’s administration.

This UK proposal comes amid global efforts to regulate social media use among minors, following Australia's world-first ban on social media for under-16s enacted in December, which is already under review due to teenagers bypassing restrictions.

Sources