Social media companies could face a ban from under-18s if they do not comply with the new draft codes of practice intended to protect children online, according to the UK media regulator Ofcom. These call for tougher age checks on social media platforms and warn that firms breaching the codes could have their minimum user age raised to 18. However, parents who have lost children as a result of exposure to harmful online content have criticised the codes as insufficient. Meta and Snapchat have said that they have additional protections for under-18s and provide parental tools to control children’s viewing.
Ofcom’s suggested measures are a central part of strict new guidelines intended to ensure compliance with the Online Safety Act which came into effect this year. Tech firms could be ‘named and shamed’ for failing to adhere to guidance aimed at filtering out harmful content from social media feeds, l whilst also carrying out more rigorous age checks. Other measures include forcing content providers to undertake content moderation, and installing “safe search” options on all company search engines.
Ofcom insists that there are over 40 different practical measures that companies need to adopt, and plans to publish league tables indicating which firms are making the required changes. Changes will come into force during the second half of 2025, with Ofcom pledging that companies which breach the draft codes could face significant penalties. In a letter to the Prime Minister, parents and campaign groups called for stronger online safety provisions, with specific mental health and suicide prevention measures included in school curriculums.
The government maintains that Ofcom’s new guidelines will ensure that the UK’s children experience the online world in a drastically different and safer way. Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan has urged companies to engage with the government rather than wait for enforcement and the imposition of hefty fines. Many tech companies, including Facebook, Twitter and Google, declined to comment publicly on the proposed measures
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