ban social media for under 16 petition

Instead of a single petition, the recent legislation was driven by an massive official national consultation conducted by the UK government between March and May 2026. This consultation served as an overwhelming public mandate, gathering more than 116,000 responses from parents, children, and experts across the country. The results showed a near-unanimous demand for action, with 9 in 10 parents backing the under-16 social media ban. Furthermore, two-thirds of young people surveyed also agreed that under-16s should not be allowed to use certain social media platforms.