Beyond the ban: What young people want the government to change online

Young people are not asking adults to leave the online world unchanged. They see the harms caused by addictive design, misleading content and unsafe uses of AI as clearly as anyone. But many are also unconvinced that banning under-16s from social media is, on its own, the right answer.

Yesterday, the government announced further proposals intended to make social media platforms and AI tools safer for young people. These include restrictions on features such as autoplay and infinite scroll, a default night-time curfew for some 16- and 17-year-olds, and new protections for under-18s using AI chatbots.

The announcement comes alongside publication of the full findings from the government’s Growing up in the online world consultation. The #iWill Movement, powered by UK Youth and Volunteering Matters, worked with Savanta and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to ensure that young people (and the adults who support them) were heard.

Over 60,000 people took part in the consultation, with eight incredible Youth Collaborators co-leading important elements of it with us. The #iWill Movement expressed its gratitude to everyone who took part.

Through national surveys, expert evidence, and seven youth-led Hack events across the UK, the consultation revealed a clear message: young people want change, but they want solutions that reflect the reality of their lives. They called for safer platform design, stronger age assurance, greater control over algorithms, clear labelling of AI-generated content and better media literacy – not simply exclusion from the online spaces in which they learn, connect and express themselves.

Several of the measures announced yesterday begin to reflect those proposals. But the real test will be whether young people remain involved as the detail is designed and implemented.

What young people told us through this consultation

The consultation showed broad support from parents, teachers and youth practitioners for an under-16 social media ban, while children and young people were much less positive. At seven youth-led Hacks around the UK, participants expressed consistent opposition to an outright ban, but wanted to see change. So the question isn’t whether government should act, but how. At these Hack events, six areas of intervention emerged amongst young people:

1. Age-appropriate tiered platform design: the development of restricted but fully functional versions of major social media platforms for younger age groups, analogous to YouTube Kids, allowing younger users to access safer environments without being excluded from the informational and social benefits of social media entirely.
2. Mandated breaks and anti-addiction design: platform-level requirements for built-in breaks, hard limits on continuous scrolling, and the removal of autoplay and infinite scroll features that function as engagement-boosting mechanisms with no natural stopping point.
3. Robust and verifiable age verification: meaningful age gates backed by credible verification mechanisms, with proper implementation and enforcement, and combined with measures to prevent circumvention through adult proxies.
4. Binding AI content labelling: a legal requirement to label all AI-generated images, videos, and written content with a mandatory watermark or equivalent indicator, making the provenance of digital content transparent to all users.
5. Algorithm transparency and user control: requirements for greater transparency about how recommendation algorithm’s function, combined with genuine user-controlled tools to adjust content preferences and limit algorithmic feedback loops.
6. Mandatory media literacy education: formal inclusion of media literacy in the secondary school curriculum from the start of secondary education.

Oscar Bingham, Assistant Director of Research and Impact at UK Youth said:

“Young people are not defending the online world as it is. They are asking adults to work with them to make it better.

“They told us they want action on addictive design, unsafe content, opaque algorithms, and misleading uses of AI. It is encouraging to see some of those ideas already reflected in the government’s proposals. But restrictions alone will not give young people the childhood they deserve.

“Online safety must be matched by investment in the trusted adults and welcoming places that help young people build confidence, relationships, and a sense of belonging.

“Youth workers are already helping young people understand what they see online, challenge misinformation, and seek support when something goes wrong. It is essential to invest in this in-person support alongside online restrictions.

“The next test is not simply whether new rules are introduced, but whether they work in young people’s real lives. That means designing them with young people, holding platforms accountable, and continuing to listen to young people as technology changes.”