Ofcom admits flagship online safety laws have failed to protect children, who still see porn and suicide content

Children have been exposed to content including Charlie Kirk's murder, graphic pornography and material about weapons that made them feel unsafe at school. A nine-month assessment of the Online Safety Act by Ofcom found no meaningful reduction in how often children encounter harmful material online. Personalised 'for you' algorithms were repeatedly identified as the root of the problem. Most UK children saw harmful content within four weeks.

Campaigners branded the lack of progress since July 2025 'staggering'.

Linda Jardine of Children First says pornography, suicide and self-harm content is 'everywhere'.

The government has announced that under-16s will be barred from social media from next March.