New child internet rules set out – but critics unconvinced

Online giants braced for change as Ofcom updates regulations

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Ofcom's new online safety rules to protect children will be "transformational", according to the regulator, but critics have expressed disappointment, saying they don't go far enough.

Ofcom published its final children's codes of practice on Thursday last week, setting out rules for how websites and apps must protect children from harmful content, including by using age assurance tools and reconfiguring algorithms to prevent young people accessing illegal and harmful material.

However, some online safety campaigners have argued the rules do not go far enough and give tech firms too much control over their approach and to define what content is harmful, rather than forcing them to block it.

Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation - set up in honour of Molly Russell, who chose to end her life, aged 14, after viewing harmful content on social media - said Ofcom's proposals are a "whole series of missed opportunities" that were "giving far too much weight to industry - rather than focusing on how it builds measures or how it sets objectives that can actually tackle the problem".