LONDON (AP) – The British government announced plans Wednesday to introduce a six-hour social media curfew from midnight for 16- and 17-year-olds – though they will be able to override the proposed default setting.

In its latest attempt to reduce the risks of online harm for children, Britain's Labour government also 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.

The planned restrictions come a month after the government unveiled a social media ban for under-16s, which is expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, but not messaging services like WhatsApp and Signal, from next spring.