Major sites and apps must enforce their minimum age rules with highly-effective age checks, Ofcom warns today, as the online safety regulator examines continued failings by services most popular among children.
The regulator has written to the major sites and apps that children use the most – Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube – requiring them to prove to parents a genuine commitment to protecting children online.
Since the UK’s online safety laws came into force last year, Ofcom has been investigating nearly a hundred services.
They have taken enforcement action, secured changes to disrupt the sharing of child sexual abuse material, and seen high risk services either get in line or block access to the UK altogether.
Millions of daily visits to porn sites now require highly effective age checks. Major platforms, including X, Telegram, Discord and Reddit, have also introduced age controls to prevent children accessing adult or harmful content.
While there are many examples of progress to be welcomed, the industry has not done enough. Parents have lost trust in tech firms’ ability to keep their children safe, while the Government is consulting on further legislative measures to address public concern.
Ofcom have set Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube a deadline of 30 April to report back on the action they will take, are urging them to publish this. In May, Ofcom will report on how the companies have responded and will announce any next steps for regulatory action.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom Chief Executive, said: “These online services are household names, but they’re failing to put children’s safety at the heart of their products. There is a gap between what tech companies promise in private, and what they’re doing publicly to keep children safe on their platforms.
“Without the right protections, like effective age checks, children have been routinely exposed to risks they didn’t choose, on services they can’t realistically avoid. That must now change quickly, or Ofcom will act.”
