Ofcom cracks down on harmful online content with new regulations to protect children

These measures, which form part of the broader Online Safety Act, are intended to significantly reduce children’s exposure to harmful online content.

Under the new rules, platforms must make critical changes by July 25, 2025, including implementing robust age verification checks and adapting algorithms to filter out content that may be harmful to children. Sites that host explicit content that encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorders are among those required to take stronger action to restrict access by under-18s.

Failure to comply could result in substantial fines or, in extreme cases, court orders to block access to services in the UK.

John Lucey, vice-president EMEA North of Cellebrite, commented: “Ofcom’s new legislation for child safety is a vital step to protect our society from harmful content being disseminated by malicious perpetrators, demanding more robust protections from websites and platforms to screen their content. With the ongoing increase of digital content, organisations need to get out in front of this issue and ensure that their platforms are safe and protected.

“Technology has a transformative role to play in child safety, helping to analyse, investigate and identify suspicious behaviour and malicious content through data. Our Pathfinder tool, for example, reveals the connections between data to streamline casework and enable the efficient analysis of crucial information to advance investigations.

“This is vital to eradicate harmful content on the internet and digital devices, protecting children, but also the investigators hunting down these perpetrators by identifying and filtering harmful materials.”

The codes mandate more than 40 practical measures aimed at enhancing online safety for children. These include adjusting algorithms to limit exposure to harmful content, enforcing robust age verification for restricted material, and swiftly removing harmful content.

Platforms must also simplify terms of service for younger users, offer opt-outs from potentially unsafe group chats, and ensure accessible support for children who encounter distressing content. Additionally, they are required to appoint a named individual responsible for children’s safety and conduct annual reviews of child safety risks.

Mr Lucey noted that reactions to the announcement have been mixed. The NSPCC welcomed the move as “a pivotal moment for children’s safety online,” while also urging further action – especially around encrypted private messaging, which remains difficult to monitor.

Dame Melanie Dawes, chief executive of Ofcom, described the introduction of the new Codes as a “gamechanger,” underscoring that the protections are legally binding.

She said: “These changes are a reset for children online. They will mean safer social media feeds with less harmful and dangerous content, protections from being contacted by strangers and effective age checks on adult content.

“Ofcom has been tasked with bringing about a safer generation of children online, and if companies fail to act they will face enforcement.”

As the new guidelines await parliamentary approval, they mark a “defining moment” in the UK’s effort to make the internet a safer space for children – a commitment that will now be enforceable by law, said Mr Lucey.

However, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said: “The Online Safety Act places a legal requirement on Ofcom to consult my Office about the Children’s Safety Code and I made it very clear last year that its proposals were not strong enough to protect children from the multitude of harms they are exposed to online every day.

“I am disappointed to see this code has not been significantly strengthened and seems to prioritise the business interests of technology companies over children’s safety.

“As Children’s Commissioner, I have spoken to more than a million young people as well as parents and school leaders, and the dangers of the online world remain one of their biggest concerns. I don’t believe this code will do enough to allay those fears.

“If companies can’t make online spaces safe for children, then they shouldn’t be in them. Children should not be expected to police the online world themselves.

“I urge Ofcom to ensure online protections mirror what children have told me they want to see. I will be urgently expressing my concerns about the Code with Ofcom.”

She is also calling on the Government to introduce a total ban on apps that use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate sexually explicit ‘deepfake’ images of children.

Her new report, published on Monday (April 28), exposes how Generative AI (GenAI) is being misused to create sexually explicit deepfake images of real people, and the alarming effect these ‘nudification’ tools are already having on children’s safety, wellbeing and participation online.

Despite being relatively new technology, GenAI – which is often free to use and widely available – has “supercharged” the growth of these tools, said Dame Rachel. While it is illegal to create or share a sexually explicit image of a child, she says the technology enabling them remains legal – and it is no longer confined to corners of the dark web but now accessible through large social media platforms and search engines.

Dame Rachel said:   “In our lifetime, we have seen the rise and power of AI – once the stuff of science fiction – to shape the way we learn, connect and experience the world. It has enormous potential to enhance our lives, but in the wrong hands it also brings alarming risks to children’s safety online.

“Children have told me they are frightened by the very idea of this technology even being available, let alone used. They fear that anyone – a stranger, a classmate, or even a friend – could use a smartphone as a way of manipulating them by creating a naked image using these bespoke apps.

“Girls have told me they now actively avoid posting images or engaging online to reduce the risk of being targeted by this technology – we cannot allow sit back and allow these bespoke AI apps to have such a dangerous hold over children’s lives.

“The online world is revolutionary and quickly evolving, but there is no positive reason for these particular apps to exist. They have no place in our society.

“Tools using deepfake technology to create naked images of children should not be legal and I’m calling on the Government to take decisive action to ban them, instead of allowing them to go unchecked with extreme real-world consequences.”