Highlights
- Ofcom found no significant change in the proportion of children encountering harmful content in the first nine months after new safety duties took effect in July 2025.
- Personalised recommendation feeds remain a major route through which children encounter pornography, suicide-related material and misogynistic content.
- Campaigners say stronger enforcement is needed, warning that a proposed social media ban for under-16s cannot replace existing online safety protections.
Ofcom has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the UK’s online safety rules after finding that children’s exposure to harmful social media content remained largely unchanged during the first nine months of the new requirements.
The regulator’s review found “no significant change” in the proportion of children encountering harmful material after child safety duties under the Online Safety Act came into force in July 2025. It also found no evidence of a change in the severity of harm reported by children.
The findings have prompted renewed scrutiny of personalised recommendation feeds, including “for you” algorithms on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, which Ofcom repeatedly identified as a route through which children were exposed to harmful material.
Examples included graphic pornography, violence, suicide-related content and material promoting misogyny and racism. Some children reported feeling frightened, confused or upset after encountering such content.
The review comes amid wider concerns about the impact of social media on children’s wellbeing. A coroner recently concluded that access to suicide-related material on TikTok may have played a significant part in the death of Adriana Retyte, a 14-year-old pupil in Norfolk, in May.
Campaigners call for stronger action
The NSPCC said the findings showed children were being exposed to harmful content at an “alarming rate”, echoing concerns raised through calls to its Childline support service.
Rani Govender, the charity’s head of child safety online, said progress was “not happening nearly fast enough”.
“Tech companies have had months to act, yet too many platforms are still built to keep children hooked with their algorithms continuing to push harmful content to their young users,” she said.
Ian Russell, the father of Molly Russell, who died aged 14 in 2017 after viewing suicide material on social media, described the lack of progress as “staggering but sadly not surprising”.
He called on Ofcom to investigate the design features of platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, arguing that the regulator should focus on how their systems expose children to harmful material.
Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes told MPs this week: “We do not see a safety culture from these large social media companies.”
The regulator is facing legal challenges from technology companies, including Meta, TikTok and X, over its powers. It has warned that it risks being “absolutely clobbered legally by deep-pocketed individuals and firms”.
Ofcom said its review did not cover the period from this spring, when it stepped up pressure on Facebook, YouTube, Snap, Roblox and TikTok over child safety. It also reported reductions in harmful content on some services, including YouTube, Pinterest and Facebook, as well as games such as Minecraft and Call of Duty.
The regulator launched an investigation into TikTok in July over its compliance with duties to protect children from harmful content, including how it verifies whether users are adults or children.
Social media ban cannot replace safety rules
The findings come ahead of a planned UK ban on social media use by under-16s, expected from next spring. The proposed restrictions would cover platforms including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and X, but not messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal.
Campaigners have warned that the ban should not distract from enforcing the Online Safety Act, particularly because children will continue to use gaming and messaging platforms that fall outside the proposed restrictions.
Mitali Sud, a senior policy manager at Internet Matters, said children would still face risks on services covered by the act but not the proposed ban.
“Sixteen- and 17-year-olds will still use social media. A social media ban cannot replace the need to make online services safer for children,” she said.
A government spokesperson said platforms had a moral and legal duty to protect children and that ministers were taking action to strengthen safeguards, including restrictions on harmful functionalities such as livestreaming and stranger communications across a wider range of services.
The government said it expected platforms to work with it to improve protections for future generations.
