Ofcom accused of prioritising interests of tech firms over child safety online

Thu, 24 Apr 2025

Watchdog’s new codes of practice are not strong enough, says children’s commissioner for England

The communications watchdog has been accused of backing big tech over the safety of under-18s after the children’s commissioner for England criticised new measures for tackling online harms.

Rachel de Souza said she warned Ofcom last year that its proposals for protecting children under the Online Safety Act were too weak. New codes of practice issued by the watchdog on Thursday have ignored her concerns, she said.

Requiring social media platforms to deploy “highly effective” age checks to identify under-18s.

Ensuring algorithms filter out harmful material.

Making all sites and apps have procedures for taking down dangerous content quickly.

Ensuring children must have a “straightforward” way to report content.