The UK Says Social Media Is Too Addictive. It’s Taking Measures For Older Teens
The United Kingdom announced a digital curfew for older teens as the government continues its efforts to crack down on social media.
The curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds will last from midnight to 6 a.m. and will impact features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay. The government said that those features will be “switched off by default for older teenagers.”
“These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life,” said Technology Secretary Liz Kendall.
“We want young people to enjoy the benefits of technology while having the tools to make the online world a place where they can thrive,” she added.
The announcement comes after the UK announced a social media ban for anyone younger than 16 in June.
“I am not prepared to compromise on the safety and happiness of our children,” then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in announcing the ban. The ban targeted platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X.
That ban focused on social media design elements that the UK says are addictive and designed to keep people on the platforms for as long as possible. The digital curfew that was announced this week focuses on some of the same design elements.
“Our consultation provided a clear message from parents and teenagers alike – even as young people gain greater independence at 16, they should still be protected from the most addictive online features that can have a harmful impact on their wellbeing,” Kendall said.
The statement from the UK government says that Kendall will also be proposing a package of measures to deal with AI chatbots and child safety. Specifically, the UK will look at “services that provide dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice. Ministers will consider all options, including banning chatbots that pose a serious threat to children.”
The UK says it anticipates that the first set of regulations on social media restrictions will be delivered to Parliament by the end of this year and that they likely will come into effect in the spring of 2027.
The UK had previously studied the potential impact of social media restrictions on teenagers. The study looked at limiting usage to 15 minutes a day, installing a no access curfew from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., and the complete removal of social media apps.
“Participants consistently reported a range of perceived benefits associated with reduced social media use, most notably improvements in sleep, mood, concentration, study time, and family interaction,” the study found.
Ali Law, TikTok’s director of public policy and government affairs in Northern Europe, told CNBC the platform was designed with safety in mind.
According to Law, TikTok has more than 50 preset safety settings for anyone under the age of 16.
“All of these are little default aspects, little nudges to make sure that people have a balanced and healthy relationship with our app, because that works in our interests…because if people are using it for too much and are burnt out, they’re not going to get value from it,” Law said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe.”
