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Social Media: Young People

Asked by Mr Andrew SnowdenConservativeDepartment for Business, Innovation, Science and TradeTabled Answered 8 September 2026UIN 22677

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether social media platforms will be required to apply the default settings automatically to existing 16 and 17-year-old users.

Answered by Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

The Government has set out plans to introduce measures for 16- and 17-year-olds on social media. Social media platforms must restrict by default access between midnight and 6am, mute overnight push notifications, and turn off autoplay and personalised recommender feeds.

We are also putting in place additional protections for 16- and 17-year-olds, which keep livestreaming and stranger communication off by default, including on social media services. Once in effect, these measures will apply to existing 16- and 17-year-old users.

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