Britain plans to require social media platforms to activate overnight restrictions by default for users aged 16 and 17, extending online protections beyond its planned ban for children under 16.
Under the proposed rules, affected teenagers would be unable to access social media apps from midnight to 6 a.m. unless they change the setting themselves. The measure would operate as a default safeguard rather than a complete overnight ban.
Autoplay videos and feeds that continuously deliver personalized content would also be switched off automatically. The government said the restrictions are intended to reduce prolonged scrolling and prevent teenagers from suddenly losing online protections once they turn 16.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the measures were designed to support teenagers’ sleep, education and relationships.
“These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college,” Kendall said, adding that the restrictions would help them spend more quality time with family and friends.
The announcement follows a government-commissioned qualitative study involving 309 UK households with young people aged 13 to 17 and their parents or guardians. Households chose whether to join a control group or one of three intervention groups based on the arrangement they believed they could follow during a month-long trial from May 2 to May 31, 2026.
The interventions included a 15-minute daily limit for each social media app, a 9 p.m.-to-7 a.m. curfew and the complete removal of selected apps. Families who tested the curfew reported the clearest and most consistent sleep improvements, while researchers found it was the easiest restriction to incorporate into existing routines.
Researchers cautioned that the findings were based mainly on self-reported experiences. The qualitative study was not designed to prove that the restrictions directly caused the reported benefits or to represent the experiences of all British teenagers.
Britain plans to present the first regulations to Parliament before the end of 2026, with the measures expected to take effect in spring 2027. The wider online-safety package will also introduce stronger age-assurance requirements and prohibit social media companies from providing their services to children under 16.
