Youth sector organisations, including Unloc and UK Youth, have called on the government to take a “collaborative approach” to the planned ban on social media for under-16s, urging that young people be treated as “vital stakeholders rather than passive subjects” in its implementation.

Unloc chief executive Hayden Taylor has called for a Youth Social Media Commission to ensure young people have an active stake in how the ban is designed, warning that without this the policy “will be usurped, ignored, and navigated around.”

UK Youth’s chief executive Rosie Ferguson said that “protecting young people online means investing in them offline,” calling for funding to reach disadvantaged communities and for implementation to draw on youth sector expertise.

A survey of 9,000 young people and 5,000 parents commissioned by the government found that just 29% of 10-21-year-olds support a full ban, with roughly half favouring selective access across some platforms; among parents, a full ban ranked lowest when presented alongside other options.

Children’s mental health campaigners from the Centre for Mental Health and the Children and Young People Mental Health Coalition criticised the ban as “not an effective nor sufficient response,” warning it risks creating a false sense of safety while leaving loopholes for unregulated platforms.