The UK Is Planning a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds

This automatic new curfew would theoretically lock older teens out of social platforms between the hours of midnight and 6 am—though the feature can be turned off. The nonmandatory restriction is to be imposed along with a looming total ban on these services for children under 16, expected to come into force in spring 2027. Both measures come after the Online Safety Act, a controversial set of laws that requires platforms hosting pornography and other material considered potentially harmful to children to verify that their users are 18 or older.