The government needs to do more to protect young people from violent and harmful content online, a report by teenagers suggests.

The Youth Select Committee, a parliamentary group of 14 to 19-year-olds, said the Online Safety Act was not robust enough to protect children from being exposed to dangerous material.

But the committee argued against calls to ban social media for under-16s, like the one being implemented in Australia, saying it “is neither practical nor effective”.

The government said it was “making our streets and online spaces safer for children” by delivering its Plan for Change.

Wania Eshaal Ahmad, the 15-year-old chair of the committee, from Yorkshire, said it was “quite abhorrent” that social media algorithms could inadvertently promote violent and harmful content to keep young people engaged.

read their report hear Youth Violence and Social Media