THE SCOTTISH Youth Parliament has warned that the incoming UK-wide social media ban for under-16s will not have the intended effect.
Around 80% of young people – from the age of 12 to 25 – surveyed said that the ban will fail to make the internet safer, and lead to young people being forced into riskier, less regulated corners, after a consultation with young people in Scotland revealed overwhelming opposition.
The stark finding comes in a major new report by the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP), published as outgoing Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting criticism over the flagship online safety measure he announced just 10 days before his resignation.
The SYP’s report, Shouldering the Blame, gathered views from more than 200 young people aged 12 to 25 through a national poll, consultation workshops and a joint session with children’s charity the NSPCC.
The report accuses the UK Government of simply shifting the burden off regulators and large social media companies and onto young people across the UK, who they say are being “punished” rather than protected.
The majority of people polled said the focus should be on holding tech giants to account for harmful content and meaningfully involving young people in decisions about online safety.
One 13-year-old girl who took part in the consultation put it bluntly: “Instead of pushing a ban … just fix moderation, filters, age limits, etc. It’s not our fault that nobody is arsed to put their foot down and solve these problems.”
Ellie Craig, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament said: “Discussions about a blanket ban distract from the real question – why are we focussing on restricting young people instead of holding the social media giants to account?”
Starmer announced the proposed ban on June 15, saying social media was making children unhappy.
The measures – contained in the Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 and expected to come into force in Spring 2027 – would bar under-16s from platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, X and YouTube.
The ban itself is modelled on legislation introduced in Australia last year, but the UK Government said it intends to go further by blocking functions such as livestreaming and stranger communication for under-16s across a wider range of online services, including gaming sites.
The SYP report was submitted in response to the UK Government’s consultation, Growing up in the Online World, which attracted more than 116,000 responses.
At the SYP’s annual sitting on June 6 and 7, 82% of Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament voted in favour of a motion opposing the ban and calling on decision-makers to engage meaningfully with young people to make online spaces safer.
Craig, who is also MSYP for Glasgow Cathcart, added: “Young people are not naïve about the risks that exist online but a concern shared by a majority of young respondents is that a ban will push young people into riskier online spaces.
“As one young person put it: ‘We want governments to stand up for children and young people, rather than pushing us out. We need to change their behaviour (tech giants), not our behaviour’.”
The SYP’s position is backed by several leading children’s organisations. Children in Scotland has described a blanket ban as a “very blunt tool”, while Together, the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights, has warned that restrictions fail to address the root causes of online harm.
Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Nicola Killean, has also questioned whether a ban would be proportionate, effective or enforceable.
The Shouldering the Blame report found that young people use social media primarily for social connection and learning, with more than half also using it to manage negative feelings.
Among its recommendations, the SYP called for young people to be directly involved in designing and evaluating online safety measures, for digital literacy teaching to be made more practical and age-appropriate, and for wider social issues affecting young people – like poor mental health and shrinking public spaces – to be addressed alongside any online restrictions.
