{"slug": "uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules", "title": "UK teenagers to face overnight social media curfew under new rules", "summary": "UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government announced new social media restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds, including a voluntary overnight curfew from midnight to 6 am and default settings disabling addictive features like infinite scrolling and AI chatbot use. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the measures aim to protect older teenagers from harmful online content, following a previously announced ban for under-16s. Critics questioned the effectiveness of voluntary measures, calling for mandatory platform design changes.", "body_md": "# UK teenagers to face overnight social media curfew under new rules\n\n- Sir Keir Starmer's government is introducing new social media restrictions for 16 and 17-year-olds, including a voluntary overnight curfew between midnight and 6 am.\n- Technology Secretary Liz Kendall announced that default settings will automatically disable addictive features like infinite scrolling and require breaks in AI chatbot use for this age group.\n- These measures aim to protect older teenagers from harmful online features and follow a previously announced social media ban for under-16s, expected from next spring.\n- A government pilot scheme involving families reported that overnight curfews helped improve sleep and concentration among participating teenagers.\n- Critics, including the Conservative shadow education secretary and online safety organisations, have questioned the effectiveness of voluntary measures, advocating for stronger, mandatory changes to platform design.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/social-media-ban-teenagers-starmer-curfew-b3015023.html", "published_at": "2026-07-15 00:49:17+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-15 01:23:59.602247+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Keir Starmer", "Liz Kendall", "UK government", "Conservative Party"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/uk-teenagers-to-face-overnight-social-media-curfew-under-new-rules.jsonld"}}