UK government opens consultation on social media age restriction, curfews and games crackdown

• Following the Online Safety Act in the UK, further measures to restrict children’s access to potentially harmful content online are being considered.
• Curbing "addictive" features like autoplay and infinite scrolling are also being considered.

The UK government is considering further measures to restrict children’s access to potentially harmful content online, including via games.

Consultations are running until May 26th, 2026 to determine whether social media, AI chatbots and gaming should be restricted, particularly where "addictive design features" are implemented.

Considerations include a minimum age requirement to use social media or curfews on nighttime usage. For games, experiences where users are paired with strangers as part of the gameplay were also highlighted, though the Online Safety Act already requires some platforms to turn off this functionality by default.

Considering a crackdown

The UK government claimed many parents and teachers have said the current setup is not sufficient. A survey is now accessible to parents and carers of children aged 21 and under, meanwhile a separate survey has become available for young people aged 10 to 21.

A third survey is available to anyone.

The government proposition did acknowledge some benefits of technology in the hands of children, where it serves as a creative outlet and a place to build friendships. Games like Minecraft and learning apps like Duolingo were named for their potential benefits, with the UK government affirming its desire to "support children to use digital spaces positively".

However, the prevalence of social media usage has increased dramatically since the lockdowns. Measures considered to curb this include restricting autoplay and infinite scrolling, cracking down on content recommendation algorithms, changing how age verification works, and potentially introducing a statutory element to phone usage in schools.

The government noted this isn’t just a teen issue, as even 17% of children aged three to five have a mobile phone and 37% in this age group use at least one form of social media. A total 85% go online, which increases to 100% by the 10-17 age group.

Regulations have been hitting tech globally, like age verification measures for app stores in Texas, or the proposed Digital Fairness Act in Europe.