Children using some of the UK’s most popular social media and gaming platforms could soon see stronger protections against online grooming and harmful content, after Ofcom secures new safety commitments from major tech firms.
Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Roblox are among the platforms introducing new measures aimed at reducing contact from strangers and improving safety settings for teens and younger users.
The regulator says the changes come after growing concerns about the risks children face online, including harmful content appearing in feeds and underage children accessing apps designed for over-13s.
What changes are being introduced?
Ofcom say Snapchat, Meta and Roblox have agreed to strengthen protections for children using their services in the UK.
Snapchat will introduce stricter default settings designed to stop adult strangers contacting children. Young users also will no longer be encouraged to expand friendship groups with people they do not know.
The app has also committed to rolling out stronger age-checking systems this summer to ensure under-18s in the UK receive the new protections.
Roblox, which already announced new child safety tools earlier this year, said parents will now be able to switch off direct chat services entirely for under-16s.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, plans to introduce a new Instagram setting that hides teens’ connection lists by default. The company also said it is developing AI tools to detect potentially sexualised conversations between adults and teenagers in Instagram direct messages. It has also promised to extend content settings on Instagram that limit what teens see to an age-appropriate level to Facebook, although Ofcom says, “it is too early to tell whether this will meaningfully reduce harm in practice.”
While Ofcom welcomes the new commitments, it says it remains concerned about how some platforms handle content recommendations in children’s feeds.
Although the Online Safety Act came into force in July 2025, Ofcom have found that 73% of 11- to 17-year-olds still encountered harmful content online in the four week period they surveyed. Over a third (35%) of these children came across this content while scrolling on their feed.
Among secondary school-aged children who reported seeing harmful content:
- 53% said they saw it on TikTok
- 36% said they saw it on YouTube
- 34% said they saw it on Instagram
- 31% said they saw it on Facebook
The regulator specifically highlights TikTok and YouTube, saying both companies failed to commit to “significant changes” to reduce harmful content shown to children.
Ofcom is also raising concerns about how effectively platforms are enforcing their minimum age rules.
The regulator says 84% of children aged eight to 12 are still using at least one major platform that officially has a minimum age requirement of 13.
YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram are all named among the services most widely used by underage children.
Ofcom says current online safety laws do not clearly require platforms to prevent underage children from accessing their services through stronger age checks.
The regulator has now written to the Government to suggest legislation may need strengthening in this area.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said: “These changes have the potential to make children’s lives safer online. Ofcom’s sustained public and private pressure on the tech platforms where children spend most time has delivered some significant safety improvements, particularly against grooming.”
She added: “However, more change is needed, and we remain deeply concerned that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take the necessary action to keep underage children off their platforms and make their feeds safer.”
These changes have the potential to make children’s lives safer online.
Chris Sherwood, CEO of the NSPCC, welcomed some of the planned updates but said platforms still need to do more to address harmful algorithms.
He said: “For far too long, tech giants have dragged their heels by refusing to address the harmful and addictive content flooding children’s feeds and putting them at risk.”
Sherwood added: “It is deeply concerning that tech companies are still failing to recognise and address the harmful nature of their algorithms. These systems are at the heart of children’s online experiences.”
What happens next?
Ofcom says it will continue monitoring how the new protections are implemented and could take enforcement action against companies that fail to comply with the Online Safety Act.
The regulator is also considering using new powers to independently inspect how platforms’ moderation systems, algorithms and age-checking tools work in practice.
Further updates on children’s online safety rules and age-checking systems are expected later this summer.
————————————————
