New rules to force tech firms to keep children safe online

SOCIAL media and other internet platforms will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content from July or face massive fines, Ofcom has said.

- MARTYN LANDI

The regulator has published the final version of its Children’s Codes under the Online Safety Act, setting out what sites must do to follow the law and protect children online.

Under the codes, any site that hosts pornography or content that encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorders must have robust age-verification tools in place to protect children from accessing that content.

Those tools could be the use of facial age-estimation technology, photo ID matching or credit card checks to verify age more reliably.

In addition, platforms will be required to configure their algorithms to filter out harmful content from children’s feeds and recommendations, ensuring they are not sent down a rabbit hole of harmful content.

Platforms will also be required to give children more control over their online experience, including indicating what content they don’t like, as well as robust controls to block connection requests and comments.

In total, the codes set out 40 practical measures firms must meet by July in order to fulfil their duties under the Online Safety Act.