[10]Upon implementation on 1 April 2024, the act was met with criticism from high-profile celebrities such as J. K. Rowling and Elon Musk.

Police Scotland were required to record the speech as a "non-criminal hate incident", however, in which Yousaf would be named.

In a HARDTalk interview, Yousaf claimed "I've not seen anybody who's described [the speech] that way that isn't, frankly, part of the far-right".

On the first day the law came into force, author J. K. Rowling posted a series of tweets about ten high-profile trans women, including convicted double rapist Isla Bryson, Andrew Miller, a trans woman who abducted a young girl in the Scottish Borders while "dressed as a woman", Mridul Wadhwa, of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre and Katie Dolatowski, "a trans paedophile who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in the toilet" of a supermarket in Kirkcaldy, Fife.

She followed this with her concerns about the act, saying, "It is impossible to accurately describe or tackle the reality of violence and sexual violence committed against women and girls, or address the current assault on women's and girls' rights, unless we are allowed to call a man a man."

She concluded by saying, "I'm currently out of the country, but if what I've written here qualifies as an offence under the terms of the new act, I look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended Rowling, saying, "People should not be criminalised for stating simple facts on biology.

"[15] On 2 April 2024, Police Scotland said Rowling's comments on social media "were not criminal and the force will not be taking action.

[18] Roddy Dunlop KC, dean of the Faculty of Advocates, explained that "the bar for prosecution, let alone conviction, is high — and I doubt we will see many of either.

Historically, police forces across the United Kingdom have attracted scrutiny for the way in which they record hate crimes where no charges are brought.

Several feminist groups have argued the absence of sex as a characteristic leaves women vulnerable to hate crimes.