Instagram, TikTok, YouTube to be unavailable by default for UK teens from midnight to 6 AM

British government has unveiled plans to introduce an overnight social media curfew for older teens aged 16 and 17.

However, teens can opt out by changing their account settings.

As per the new regulations, social media platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube will become unavailable by default for older teenagers between midnight and 6:00 AM.

Addictive features such as auto-play and infinite scrolling will also be automatically disabled.

These plans have been made after the decision made by June to ban the use of any social media platform by under-16-year-olds. It is amongst the last actions taken by the current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer.

The government based its action on a pilot test that was conducted using more than 300 teenagers from the U.K., which showed great improvement in their health due to the limitations in the use of the platforms.

Despite criticism related to the voluntary ban, online safety minister Kanishka Naryan defended the approach, saying: “90% plus teenagers said to us that they’ve maintained those defaults” when similar features were introduced previously.

All over the world, tech giants are facing scrutiny over online safety, with TikTok’s director of public policy noting the platform already has over 50 preset settings for under-16s, including a one-hour screen time limit and 10:00 PM break reminders.