World

UK watchdogs push social media giants to block children

Mar 12, 2026

Stock images of social media apps — Britain is considering barring under-16s from social media platforms - echoing a move by Australia. -AAP Image

Britain's media ‌and privacy regulators are calling for major social media platforms to do more to keep children off their services, warning that ‌companies are failing to enforce their own minimum age rules.

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Britain has been weighing tougher curbs on children's access to social media, with the government considering barring under-16s from such platforms - echoing a move by Australia.

Ofcom and the Information Commissioner's Office said they had grown increasingly concerned about algorithmic feeds that expose children to harmful or addictive content.

"These online ‌services are household ‌names, but they're failing ⁠to put children's safety at the heart of their products," Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes said.

"That must now change quickly, or Ofcom will act."

In the latest implementation phase of Britain's Online Safety Act, Ofcom told Facebook and Instagram - both owned by Meta - as well as Roblox, Snapchat, ByteDance's TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube to show by April 30 how they would tighten age checks, restrict strangers from contacting children, make ⁠feeds safer and stop testing new products on minors.

The ICO separately ‌issued an open letter to the same platforms, calling on them to adopt "modern, viable" age-assurance tools to stop those under 13 accessing services not ‌designed for them.

"There's now modern technology at your fingertips, so there is no excuse," Paul Arnold, ICO's chief executive, said.

A Meta spokesperson said the company already used AI-based age detection and age-estimation tools and placed teens in accounts with built-in protections.

The spokesperson said age should be verified "centrally at the app store level" so families did not have to provide personal information multiple times.

A YouTube spokesperson said the platform offers age-appropriate experiences ‌and was "surprised to see Ofcom move away from a risk-based approach", urging the regulator to focus on "high-risk services" that were failing to comply with the law.

Roblox, Snapchat and TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ofcom can fine companies up to 10 per cent of their qualifying global revenue, while the ICO can issue fines of up to 4 per cent of a company's global annual turnover.

The privacy watchdog last month fined Reddit nearly Stg14.5 million ($A27 million) for failing to introduce meaningful age ⁠checks and for processing children's data unlawfully.