Age checks helping make online experiences safer for UK children, but ‘job not done’ and tech industry must act to strengthen protections 15 July 2026

UK — Ofcom · 2026-07-15 · UK · verified record

Themes: Child safety & minors

Ecosystems: UK Online Safety Act

- Significant progress in first few months of laws being in force, with proportion of children encountering highly effective age checks nearly doubling overall - 8% of children attempt to access porn; half of these children only reached sites with age checks in place, while those visiting porn sites without age checks often go via search engines - Serious doubts whether age inference methods currently used by some popular social media sites and apps are fit for purpose, with investigation launched into TikTok - Ofcom sends clear message to industry that age inference methods will not be good e

- Significant progress in first few months of laws being in force, with proportion of children encountering highly effective age checks nearly doubling overall - 8% of children attempt to access porn; half of these children only reached sites with age checks in place, while those visiting porn sites without age checks often go via search engines - Serious doubts whether age inference methods currently used by some popular social media sites and apps are fit for purpose, with investigation launched into TikTok - Ofcom sends clear message to industry that age inference methods will not be good e…

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