The United Kingdom is trialing social media bans, digital curfews and time limits on apps for teenagers across the country.
The trials will see 300 teens have their social media apps disabled entirely, blocked overnight or capped to one hour’s use, while others will see no change at all, in order to compare experiences.
This comes as the government runs a consultation asking whether the U.K. should follow Australia’s lead in making it illegal for under-16s to have access to many social media sites.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said it was about "testing different options in the real world".
"These pilots will give us the evidence we need to take the next steps, informed by the experiences of families themselves," she said.
Children and parents will be interviewed before and after the pilot program, while the government’s consultation continues to run until 29 May.
The trial comes after U.K. lawmakers voted against a proposal to include a social media ban for under-16s in an existing piece of legislation, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, earlier this month.
The move has widespread political support with countries like France, Spain and Indonesia considering replicating Australia’s ban.
It also has the backing of some campaigners and children’s charities.
Despite this, other experts have been sceptical, arguing that such restrictions could be easily circumvented to push children into darker corners of the internet.
Some believe tech companies should make their platforms safer, not just ban them for children.
This comes after the parent company for Facebook, Instagram and Threads, Meta, was found liable for nearly US$400 million in damages after a jury concluded that it failed to protect children on its platforms from predators.
