The UK media regulator Ofcom has announced new measures to protect children on social platforms, while accusing Google-owned YouTube and TikTok of failing to meet the required child-safety standards.
According to Ofcom’s announcement, the agency has been in talks with major social media platforms since March, urging them to strengthen their safety measures to protect children and reduce underage users’ exposure to inappropriate content.
Ofcom says Snap, Meta, and Roblox have pledged to introduce additional protections, including preventing adults from contacting children by default, allowing parents to disable direct messages, and hiding teens’ connection lists on Instagram by default.
On the other hand, Ofcom added that despite evidence showing that TikTok and YouTube feeds contain inappropriate content, the platforms have failed to make significant changes to reduce children’s exposure to harmful material. According to an Ofcom study, 73% of users aged 11 to 17 on social platforms have been exposed to harmful content. In addition, 53% of users reported seeing harmful content on TikTok, followed by YouTube at 36% and Instagram at 34%.
The UK watchdog said it plans to conduct an independent audit to examine how content detection and moderation systems, algorithms, and age-verification processes used by social media platforms operate.
“We are determined to force through further changes, using the full extent of our powers and influence. We will also bring our evidence and experience to bear as the government considers responses to its national conversation on children’s safety and social media,” Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said.
In response to Ofcom’s announcement, YouTube told Reuters it is now working with child safety experts to provide enhanced protection for underage users in the UK, while Meta highlighted its more than a decade-long investment in child safety measures. TikTok, however, said it was “very disappointing” that Ofcom had not acknowledged the platform’s safety measures for protecting teenagers.