The news has threatened that social media platforms that don’t follow new guidelines on online safety risks will be blocked for users under the age of 18.
The media regulator released proposed standards of practice that call for tech companies to strengthen age verification processes and reorganize their algorithms in order to stop minors from viewing inappropriate content.
Ofcom’s new regulations, however, have been criticized by parents of children who died after being exposed to toxic online information as “insufficient”; one father told the news that reform was occurring “at a snail’s pace.”
Both Snapchat and Meta made statements claiming to have additional safeguards for users under the age of eighteen and to provide parental controls to limit what kids can see on their services.
When the news asked other companies for comments, they did not reply.
