{"id":945,"date":"2026-07-16T19:42:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:42:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945"},"modified":"2026-07-16T19:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T19:42:43","slug":"the-u-k-wants-a-social-media-curfew-for-16-and-17-year-olds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945","title":{"rendered":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The United Kingdom’s crusade against social media is not over. As if a <\/span>social media ban<\/span> for children under 16 were not restrictive enough, the U.K. has announced plans to impose a social media curfew for 16- and 17-year-olds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more A Texas Immigrant Detention Center Is a \u2018Human Rights Disaster,\u2019 Civil Rights Groups Say in Report<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the country’s <\/span>Department for Science, Innovation and Technology<\/span> unveiled<\/span> a proposal for default overnight curfews on social media apps between midnight and 6 a.m. The measure would also, by default, switch off <\/span>features<\/span> that “serve up personalised content” for the older teenagers. The proposed regulations would still need to be legislated by Parliament and are expected to be enforced <\/span>next spring<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to a <\/span>press release<\/span> announcing the proposals, these measures will “help ensure there is no cliff edge in protections as young people move into their later teenage years,” since the country’s social media ban only covers children under 16. The curfew measures are not as overtly restrictive as the ban, and 16- and 17-year-olds can <\/span>opt out<\/span> of the curfew by changing their account settings. Still, the measures represent another overreach of government power into young people’s lives. In the U.K., 16-year-olds can consent to <\/span>sex<\/span>, <\/span>drink<\/span> alcohol in restaurants (with an adult), and join the <\/span>Royal Navy<\/span>. But they cannot be trusted, by default, to manage their own social media usage?<\/span><\/p>\n

“In Scotland, at 16, you can legally move out, get married, work full time, leave education, and enlist, but can’t be on your phone when you want,” one teen complained to <\/span>The Guardian<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/i>“I’m sorry, but that’s stupid.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Others have pointed out the absurdity of the policy, which may not even achieve its stated goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more As the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Hits a 40-Year Low, It\u2019s Time To Scrap It<\/a><\/p>\n

“Either Labour think [sic<\/em>] 16 & 17 year olds should be on social media or they don’t, but curfews they can switch off won’t achieve anything,” Laura Trott, the Shadow Education Secretary,<\/span> wrote<\/span> on X. “Giving 16 year olds the vote while putting them under a social media curfew makes no sense.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.K. is proposing other online safety measures in addition to the curfew. The country’s technology secretary also <\/span>intends<\/span> to “bring forward a package of measures to help children use AI chatbots safely,” including “regular breaks for under-18s using chatbots” (it’s unclear if such breaks would be encouraged or required) and “working with regulators and across government to address services that provide dangerous, misleading or unverified mental health advice.” It says that “ministers will consider all options, including banning chatbots that pose a serious threat to children.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.K. government also <\/span>plans<\/span> to bolster “media literacy skills” in schools through an updated National Curriculum and Relationships, Sex, and Health Education classes. These classes will “teach children to navigate new types of technology including artificial intelligence and AI chatbots, identify mis- and disinformation as well as violent and misogynistic content.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is perhaps the most chilling part of the proposed measures. Misinformation and disinformation are extremely <\/span>subjective<\/span> terms that have regularly been invoked to justify censoring speech (like in the U.S. during <\/span>COVID-19<\/span>). Schools have a legitimate interest in teaching students to think critically and seek truth, but the U.K. government is hardly in a position to tell kids how to navigate technology as it continues to propose and implement draconian measures restricting the free flow of information online. <\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Thomas Massie Sparks a Democratic Civil War Over Israel<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the U.K., 16-year-olds can consent to sex and join the Royal Navy. But the government wants to limit when they use social media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-kingdom"],"yoast_head":"\nThe U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the U.K., 16-year-olds can consent to sex and join the Royal Navy. But the government wants to limit when they use social media.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pioneer Relocation News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a\"},\"headline\":\"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"United Kingdom\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945\",\"name\":\"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?p=945#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Pioneer Relocation News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News","og_description":"In the U.K., 16-year-olds can consent to sex and join the Royal Navy. But the government wants to limit when they use social media.","og_url":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945","og_site_name":"Pioneer Relocation News","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a"},"headline":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds","datePublished":"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg","articleSection":["United Kingdom"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945","url":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945","name":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds - Pioneer Relocation News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-16T19:42:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b9d081550d687d5a1ceec166be7872e7.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?p=945#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The U.K. Wants a Social Media Curfew for 16- and 17-Year-Olds"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/","name":"Pioneer Relocation News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/e60d53b4e81d520eba9c5a81b6b7778a","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pioneerrelocationnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}