YouTube and TikTok failing to protect children - Ofcom

ITV News reporter Vicki Smith heard how the lack of protection is affecting students and teachers at one academy in Kent

Ofcom has said TikTok and YouTube have failed to outline how they will protect children on their services and has vowed to “force through” more changes when it comes to online safety.

The communications watchdog said the two social media platforms had failed to set out how they would make the content feeds, which are pushed to children, on their services safe, despite being asked to explain how they would do so by the end of April.

The regulator said neither firm had “committed to any significant changes in response to our specific demands”, maintaining that their feeds are “already safe for children”.

Ofcom said companies still do not do enough to protect children. / Credit: PA

Ofcom said its own research, published on Thursday, showed that “personalised feeds are the primary route through which children encounter harmful content” online.

Its children’s online safety tracker compared young people’s experiences before and after online safety duties came into effect in July 2025.

Findings showed about seven in 10 children aged 11-17 surveyed in November and December last year said they had experienced harmful content online, which was a similar level reported in the research carried out in March and April of that year.

Personal feeds remained the most likely route through which 11-17 year-olds said they were exposed to harmful content (35%) – a similar proportion to findings from before the new duties came into effect (37%).

The research showed that while more children told an adult about harmful content they had seen, the proportion remained low at 15%, up from 10% before the duties came into force.

More than half (51%) of children surveyed said they had been asked to prove their age to access content online, up from 41% – with facial scanning the most common method, followed by uploading a passport or ID or taking a selfie for verification.

However, the research also showed nine in 10 children aged eight-12 are using online services with a minimum age requirement of 13, leading the regulator to warn that “firms’ responses to our demand to enforce these requirements more effectively are concerning”.

Ofcom said while Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok – which all have a minimum age of 13 in their terms of use – recognise the importance of minimum age policies, the regulator is “not currently convinced” existing commitments by any of them “ensure they will effectively prevent children under 13 from accessing their sites and apps”.

The watchdog said messaging service Snapchat, gaming platform Roblox, and Meta – which owns Instagram and Facebook – had all agreed to adopt further safety measures to protect children from online grooming.

It said adult strangers will be prevented from contacting children on Snapchat by default, children will no longer be encouraged to expand their friendship groups to people they do not know and that the platform had agreed to “roll out highly effective age-checks to all users over the summer to ensure that all under-18s in the UK benefit from these new safety measures”.

Roblox, which has previously faced criticism over its approach to safety, has committed to giving parents the ability to switch off direct chat services entirely for under-16s, the watchdog said.

Meanwhile, Meta plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to detect sexualised conversations between adults and teens in Instagram direct messages, Ofcom added.

But the regulator said it was scrutinising further details it had requested from Meta, TikTok and YouTube, “given the particularly high levels of usage of these services, on how they detect and prevent children being exposed to harmful content”.

The watchdog pledged to take enforcement action, which could include a fine, if it finds services “are not complying with their duties to use appropriate systems to prevent children’s exposure to harmful content”.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom chief executive, said: “These changes have the potential to make children’s lives safer online. Ofcom’s sustained public and private pressure on the tech platforms where children spend most time has delivered some significant safety improvements – particularly against grooming.

“However, more change is needed, and we remain deeply concerned that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take the necessary action to keep underage children off their platforms and make their feeds safer.

“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.”

A Government consultation into children’s experiences online, including on potential social media age restrictions, restrictions on addictive design features and better support for parents and families, is due to close next week.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation – set up in the memory of teenager Molly Russell who took her own life after viewing harmful content on social media – welcomed Ofcom “starting to bare its teeth against Big Tech companies that have been complacent and evasive when it comes to protecting children from preventable harm”.

A Meta spokesperson said they had been “investing in tools and policies to ensure teens have safe, positive online experiences” and are “rolling out new safety protections for teens”, adding that the company will “continue to engage with Ofcom on these important issues”.

A spokesperson for TikTok said: “It’s very disappointing that Ofcom has failed to acknowledge both our longstanding and newer safety features, from no direct messaging for under-16s, pre-set private teen accounts, to our recently enhanced age assurance technologies. We will continue to make ongoing investments in safety measures for our users.”

A YouTube spokesperson said the platform “provides industry-leading, age-appropriate, high-quality experiences for young viewers, working with child safety experts to deliver protections that support millions of families across the UK”, adding that its “YouTube Kids, and Kid & Teen Accounts on YouTube, offer age-appropriate experiences with extra protections”.