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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
Robert Booth UK technology editor

UK 16- and 17-year-olds to be encouraged to follow midnight social media curfew

Girls sit on a bench, both looking at their mobile phones
The move is an extension of the under-16 social media ban announced last month. Photograph: Iryna Khabliuk/Alamy

Sixteen and 17-year-olds are to be encouraged to observe a midnight social media curfew, in the latest stage of Labour’s bid “to protect the next generation” from online harms, including poor sleep caused by night-time scrolling.

From next spring, Britain’s oldest children will be urged to refrain from using certain apps with a midnight to 6am block being switched on by default. But the curfew will not be mandatory and can be overridden. The move is an extension of the under-16 social media ban announced last month, which included restrictions on platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X.

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