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Written question asked by Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Monday, 6 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Social Media: Children

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release, "Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back", of 15 June 2026, at what time of the evening would the overnight curfew start.

Answer

Keeping children safe online is a priority for this government. On 15 June, the government published a progress statement following the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation.

This announced that government were banning social media companies offering their services to children under the age of 16, preventing under 16s accessing harmful functions on a wider range of services and preventing under 18s from accessing AI chatbot services that primarily offer sexualised content and requiring AI chatbots to prevent children under 18s from accessing features that generate sexually explicit conversations.

The government will provide a further update on any curfew measures in the coming weeks.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
15231
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Children Protection Safety Social media
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk