When Lindy* bought her son a smartphone two years ago, she thought she was giving him a thoughtful birthday present. She was busy with life and did not think much about checking his browser history or asking what was keeping him glued to his screen.
Then, during the school holidays, her mother caught Lindy’s 12-year-old son watching pornography. “It was the shock of my life,” Lindy told /explain/. The discovery meant having a conversation about sex and pornography much earlier than she had expected.
“Having to educate my 12-year-old about wanting to be sexually active was heartbreaking because this was a conversation I was looking to have in high school,” she said.
Lindy’s experience is hardly unique. But it comes at an important moment in the worldwide and years-long debate about what role sites like Instagram and Facebook play in exposing children to harmful content online.
Legal agreement could bring big platform changes
In late August Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, agreed before a California court to pay up to $16.68 billion to settle claims brought by 29 US states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were designed to get children hooked, harming young users and illegally collecting their data. The company continues to deny any wrongdoing.
Reuters reported that the settlement amount “represents about three to four months of profit and about one month of revenue for Meta”.
The agreement also includes changes to how the platforms identify younger users, sets daily usage limits, and restricts nighttime notifications. As part of the deal, Meta said in a statement, 30% of the settlement amount will be withheld until YouTube and TikTok agree to implement similar changes – and to cough up money of their own.
“YouTube and TikTok (must) each pay an amount matching the 30% figure, with half of the remaining funds tied to YouTube’s payment and half tied to TikTok’s,” Meta said in its statement.
The settlement is significant because it goes beyond the question of whether individual posts are illegal: it gets into how the platforms themselves work. Individual posts can be reported and removed. When platforms are packed full of features that draw young users in and make it easy for adults to contact minors, it becomes much harder to protect children.
South Africa does have laws protecting children online
In South Africa the Films and Publications Act, first enacted in 1996 and most recently amended and updated on 1 March 2022, covers online distribution and gives the Film and Publication Board powers relating to prohibited content. The law criminalises the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material and places obligations on online distributors and internet service providers to guard against these practices.
Other laws also criminalise various forms of sexual exploitation and grooming involving children.
The courts have shown that these laws can be used against platforms. In July 2025, the Gauteng High Court ordered Meta to permanently remove more than 30 Instagram accounts and WhatsApp channels distributing explicit material involving schoolchildren. The court also ordered Meta to provide information about the people behind the accounts.
Preventing the harm
Unfortunately the country’s legal framework remains largely reactive. The 2025 case in the Gauteng High Court shows what can happen once illegal material is identified, by which time it has already been published.
Bryana Elizabeth van Antwerpen, who researched children’s digital safety for her Masters degree in Law at the University of Johannesburg, says South Africa has laws protecting children generally but does not yet have a comprehensive framework specifically addressing how online platforms are designed with children’s safety in mind.
That includes questions around age assurance, access to adult material and the way that algorithms work.
William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa, argues that the problem extends far beyond pornography. He points to cyberbullying, sextortion, AI-generated abuse, child sexual abuse material, disinformation and the effects of platforms designed to capture attention.
His argument is simple: the companies built these systems, so they cannot leave all the responsibility with parents. Bird supports a “Safety by Design” approach. Instead of waiting for something harmful to happen and then removing it, platforms would have to consider safety and children’s rights when designing products in the first place.
Parents are fighting a much bigger system
Childline South Africa says children who reach out to it for help report cyberbullying, grooming, coercion, blackmail, exposure to child sexual abuse material and online sexual exploitation.
Online predators may pose as children, build relationships with young people and then pressure them into sending sexual images. Those images can then be used to blackmail them. Childline also says it is increasingly concerned about online global networks such as “764”, which deliberately target and prey on children.
Bhavna Lutchman, Childline’s Online Counselling Project Manager, says children can be particularly vulnerable because they are still developing emotionally and socially. That makes simply telling parents to “check the phone” feel like rather inadequate advice.
Still, Lindy says it’s important for parents to pay attention to their kids’ devices. “Parents should not sleep on checking their children’s phones regularly,” she said. “Even a spot check can save their children a lot.” But she sees the limits of that approach. “Social media has made it so easy for kids to access explicit content.”
Lutchman recommends setting clear rules around screen time and which apps children can use, while having regular conversations about what they may or do encounter online. If something goes wrong, parents should listen to and reassure their child rather than immediately taking the device away as punishment.
*Last name withheld to protect privacy
If you or your child needs help with online harm, Childline South Africa’s 24-hour toll-free helpline can be reached by dialling 116.
Ratiloe is a Community Journalist for Explain News and is one of the youngest voices on the team. With a background in public speaking, debate, and youth leadership, she is passionate about continuous learning and personal growth. She approaches journalism with empathy, curiosity, and a deep interest in understanding people and human behaviour.
