U.K. unveils plans for voluntary overnight social media curfew for older teens

LONDON — The British government announced plans on Wednesday for 16 and 17-year-olds to face a voluntary overnight social media curfew, its latest attempt to reduce online harm for children.

LONDON — The British government announced plans on Wednesday for 16 and 17-year-olds to face a voluntary overnight social media curfew, its latest attempt to reduce online harm for children.

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It said that features that can keep users scrolling for longer, such as videos that automatically play one after another, will also be switched off by default for older teenagers.

Critics questioned the effectiveness of the measures given that the teenagers will be able to switch off these default settings.