Ofcom calls for social media giants like TikTok and Facebook defend our children from grooming
The regulator has written to tech titans including Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube warning they must start proving tough action
Many parents are worried about how to keep their children safe online
Watchdog Ofcom has gone to war with social media giants – demanding they protect our kids from grooming with proper age checks.
The regulator has written to tech titans including Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube warning they must start proving tough action.
Firms have been told they need to show parents they are genuinely committed to keeping youngsters safe on their platforms.
Ofcom chief Melanie Dawes said the Silicon Valley mob are putting young folk at risk.
She 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.”
Chris Sherwood of the child protection charity NSPCC said social media giants “have looked the other way while harmful and addictive content floods children’s feeds”.
He added: “Platforms must finally know who is using their services so that they can stop children accessing spaces that were never designed for them.”
He demanded the Government give Ofcom “full powers” to enforce effective age checks “as an urgent priority” to rein in dangerous algorithms, and finally hold tech companies to account”.
It comes after research revealed almost one million pre-school children are already active on social media platforms designed for teens and adults.
Ofcom found almost 40% of parents of three to five-year-olds let their child use an app or site, up from 29% in 2023.
