Britain to Lock Older Teens Out of Social Apps Between Midnight and 6 AM The UK government has proposed an optional overnight curfew that would automatically lock 16- and 17-year-olds out of social media between midnight and 6 am, alongside a full ban for under-16s expected in spring 2027. Britain's technology ministry has laid out plans for an automatic nighttime lockout that would keep 16- and 17-year-olds off social media platforms between midnight and 6 am, though families and teenagers themselves would be free to switch the restriction off. The curfew is designed to work alongside a much stricter rule already in the pipeline: a full ban on social media accounts for anyone under 16, which is expected to come into force in spring 2027. A Bridge Built on the Online Safety Act Both measures grow out of the Online Safety Act, the UK law that has already forced platforms hosting pornography and other content considered potentially harmful to children to check that users claiming to be adults really are 18 or older. That law reshaped how apps and websites in Britain handle age verification, and the new curfew and under-16 ban are effectively the next chapter of the same project, this time aimed squarely at how teenagers use social media day to day. Switched On by Default, But Not Locked In The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, known as DSIT, says the midnight-to-6am block will apply automatically to accounts belonging to 16- and 17-year-olds once the rule takes effect. Crucially, though, it is not mandatory. Teenagers or their parents will be able to turn the curfew off if they choose, which means the policy functions less like a hard lock and more like a strong default setting nudging young users toward better sleep habits. Closing the Cliff Edge as Teens Grow Older DSIT has framed the curfew as a way to avoid what it calls a cliff edge in protections. Because the Online Safety Act already limits what younger children can see and do online, the department expects future generations of teenagers to turn 16 having had little or no real experience with social media. Without some kind of transition, those teens could suddenly gain full, unrestricted access overnight the moment they cross that age line. The curfew, alongside restrictions on addictive app features, is meant to ease that jump. The complete package of rules is due to go before Parliament later this year, with the regulations taking effect in 2027. Autoplay and Endless Feeds Face a Default Switch-Off Alongside the curfew, DSIT also announced a crackdown on design features it considers addictive, specifically videos that automatically play one after another and feeds that continually serve up personalized content. For older teenagers, both mechanisms will be switched off by default. As with the curfew itself, users will be able to override that setting and turn autoplay and personalized feeds back on if they want to. UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said the changes are meant to protect basic parts of a young person's life. "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," she said in a statement. She added, "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." New Guardrails Planned for AI Chatbots DSIT also signaled that Kendall intends to push additional protections around artificial intelligence. Children under 18 are set to get mandated breaks from chatbot conversations, and they are already due to be blocked from AI platforms capable of imitating romantic conversation. Regulators will be given the job of reining in services that dispense dangerous, misleading, or unverified mental health advice, and the department warned that any chatbot found to pose a serious threat to young people in the UK could be banned outright. Rewriting What Kids Learn About the Internet The government also wants to strengthen media literacy in schools, updating curricula to cover artificial intelligence, technological bias, and misinformation and disinformation, along with practical strategies for spotting violent and misogynist content online. The idea is to pair the technical restrictions with lessons that help young people navigate whatever access they do have more critically. Parents Are on Board, but Rights Groups Are Not The push for age limits follows years of lawsuits against major tech companies and research raising alarms about the effects of social media on younger users, which has pushed advocates, parents and politicians in several countries toward broadly similar demands. The UK government says roughly 9 in 10 parents there support a legal requirement for social media services to have a minimum age of access. That sentiment isn't confined to Britain either: a Pew Research Center survey published this month found that 56 percent of American adults would back a ban on social media for people under 16. Not everyone agrees with the approach. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and GLAAD have all criticized this kind of age-gating, calling it an oversimplified fix that curtails rights to open information and free speech. These groups warn that lawmakers could use such restrictions to block access to sex education material and LGBTQ resources that many teenagers rely on. Australia's Experience Is a Warning Sign There is also a real question of whether rules like these actually work. Australia became the first country to ban children under 16 from a range of popular social media apps in December, a move that led to roughly 5 million accounts being removed within a month. But early research has found that around 75 percent of 14- to 15-year-olds there are getting around the age limit anyway. Australia's government is now investigating alleged noncompliance by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube as it struggles to enforce its own law, and it plans to double the fines platforms face for violations, even though it hasn't collected a single one so far. The UK has been explicit about following the same model Australia used to try to keep children off social media, which means British regulators may end up wrestling with the very same enforcement problems. What this means for you • For parents and teenagers: If your household has teenagers who use social media, these UK rules signal a global trend that other countries, including India, could eventually follow, so it is worth starting conversations now about screen time, sleep schedules and safe online habits. Questions & Answers 1. Which teenagers will the new social media curfew apply to? The curfew applies to accounts belonging to 16- and 17-year-olds, which would automatically lock them out of social media between midnight and 6 am. 2. Is the curfew mandatory? No, it is not mandatory. Teenagers or their parents can switch the restriction off. 3. When will the ban on social media for under-16s take effect? The ban is expected to come into force in spring 2027. 4. What is the Online Safety Act? It's a UK law that already requires platforms hosting pornography and other potentially harmful content to verify that their users are 18 or older. 5. Which features will be switched off by default for older teens? Autoplay videos and feeds that continually serve personalized content will be switched off by default, though users can turn them back on. 6. What new rules are planned for AI chatbots? Children under 18 will get mandated breaks from chatbot conversations, be blocked from AI platforms that imitate romantic conversation, and chatbots found to pose a serious threat could be banned outright. 7. Why are rights groups criticizing the plan? Groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and GLAAD say age-gating is an oversimplified fix that curtails free speech and open information rights, and could be used to block sex education and LGBTQ resources. 8. Has a similar ban worked in Australia? Not entirely. Around 75 percent of 14- to 15-year-olds in Australia are circumventing the age limit, and the government is investigating alleged noncompliance by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. https://trendkia.com/en/technology/uk-men-aba-adhi-rata-se-subaha-6-baje-taka-kishoron-ke-lie-soshala-midiya-para-karphyu-ki-taiyari-7763 TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.