British Regulators Demand Social Media Giants Better Protect Children Online

UK authorities are pressuring major social media companies including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube to strengthen protections for minors on their platforms. The regulators warn that current age verification systems are failing and companies have until April 30 to show improved safety measures.

LONDON, March 12 – British regulatory authorities issued stern warnings Thursday to leading social media companies, insisting they strengthen efforts to prevent underage users from accessing their platforms and criticizing current enforcement of age restrictions.

The United Kingdom has been exploring stricter limitations on youth social media access, with officials contemplating a ban on platform use for those under 16 years old, following Australia’s lead on similar restrictions.

Both Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office expressed mounting worries about algorithm-driven content feeds that subject young users to dangerous or dependency-forming material.

“These online services are household names, but they’re failing to put children’s safety at the heart of their products,” stated Melanie Dawes, who serves as Ofcom’s chief executive.

“That must now change quickly, or Ofcom will act.”

As part of implementing Britain’s Online Safety Act, Ofcom issued directives to Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms, along with Roblox, Snapchat, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Alphabet’s YouTube, requiring them to demonstrate improved age verification systems by April 30. The companies must also show progress in preventing unknown adults from reaching children, creating safer content feeds, and ending the practice of testing new features on underage users.

The ICO issued its own public statement to these same platforms, urging adoption of “modern, viable” age-verification technology to block users under 13 from accessing inappropriate services.

“There’s now modern technology at your fingertips, so there is no excuse,” declared Paul Arnold, the ICO’s chief executive.

Ofcom holds authority to impose penalties reaching 10% of companies’ worldwide qualifying revenue, while the ICO can levy fines up to 4% of global annual earnings.

Last month, the privacy regulator imposed a nearly 14.5 million pound fine on Reddit for inadequate age verification procedures and improper handling of children’s personal information.