Commenting on the Government announcement that includes curfews for social media use and measures on addictive features, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
"It is vital that raising the social media age limit to 16 does not create a cliff edge for older teenagers. Measures such as default nighttime curfews and switching off addictive features are an important step towards making social media safer for 16- and 17-year-olds. But we must also give young people the digital literacy and online citizenship skills they need to navigate these platforms safely.
"AI chatbots can provide unreliable, inaccurate and, at times, dangerous advice to children and young people. Promoting healthier online habits and tackling these emerging risks is essential, so today's measures are a welcome progress in the right direction.
"For too long, social media companies have been free to profit from children's attention while disrupting their education, harming their wellbeing and exposing them to content they are not ready to see. By banning social media for under-16s and introducing these safeguards, the Government is taking an important step towards giving children back their childhoods."