The UK Government has announced that older teenagers in the UK will face an overnight social media curfew, though they can opt out of it by changing their account settings. Photo: BBC

This would mean apps such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube would be set to be unavailable by default to 16- and 17-year-olds between midnight and 06:00.

The government also wants "addictive" features such as auto-play and infinite scroll to be set to be disabled, saying that, combined with the curfew, the measures will improve teenagers' focus, sleep quality and family life.

However, campaigners such as Ellen Roome, who believes her 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in an online challenge gone wrong in 2022, does not think the plan goes far enough, as teenagers can switch the setting off.

"I just think it's not good enough really, just to have a product you can switch off; it's a bit like offering a 17-year-old a bottle of alcohol and then moving it slightly out of arm’s reach; they can just drag it back in. I really wish they could go stronger and harder on these things," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 

New plan

The new plans follow the announcement in June that under-16s in the UK would be banned entirely from a range of platforms.

It adds to a complex and potentially confusing mix of policies and measures from the government and tech firms intended to keep young people safe online. They include optional parental controls over children's devices and child-only versions of popular sites such as YouTube.

Lorna Woods, professor of internet law at Essex University, told the BBC she felt the measure was designed to target apprehensions from parents and child safety groups.

"There have been concerns about the way services keep children and young people engaged on their phones for long periods, and that this can impact their sleep, amongst other effects," she said.

New requirements 

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has previously said it wants age verification to be handled by manufacturers of devices themselves, rather than the onus being entirely on platforms.

Apple recently introduced such "device-level" age checks, meaning anyone using iPhones and iPads with the latest version of their operating software will be asked to verify their ages.

Baroness Kidron, who has strongly campaigned for safety and age assurance measures to be at a device rather than app level, was critical of the government's approach. 

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said it should not be about "banning children from tech" but "banning tech from putting toxic products in the hands of children".