Ban children from social media if Online Safety Act weakened, says Children’s Commissioner

The Children’s Commissioner for England has said that under 16s should be banned from using social media if protections outlined in the Online Safety Act are weakened during trade negotiations with the US.

Dame Rachel de Souza issued a strong warning this week as tech companies push back against key parts of the new legislation.

Speaking to Sky News, Dame Rachel said she had fought for the legislation because children as young as eight are being exposed to "gore, pornography, terrible degrading violence towards women" online. She argued that the Government’s focus should be on protecting children, not “appeasing tech lobbyists.”

The Online Safety Act became law in October 2023, with the aim of holding technology companies accountable for the safety of users—particularly children—on their platforms.

Under the Act, firms must carry out risk assessments, implement safeguards against harmful and illegal content, and demonstrate they are meeting their duties to protect children. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, is overseeing enforcement of the new rules.

However, organisations such as techUK, which represents major platforms, have urged the Government to delay or reduce certain requirements, claiming the rules are difficult and expensive to implement.

Dame Rachel strongly rejected these calls and said that children’s safety online must take priority over business interests. She also repeated her call for stronger age verification measures, stating that platforms must be required to confirm users’ ages to prevent underage children from accessing harmful material. She added, “If they can’t or won’t make platforms safe for children, then children shouldn’t be on them.”

In response to the Commissioner’s warning, a government spokesperson said: “The Online Safety Act makes clear that protecting children is a top priority. We will work with Ofcom and all stakeholders to ensure the law is implemented effectively and without delay.”

CARE has campaigned for more than seven years for the introduction of age verification on pornographic sites. We will continue to hold the Government to account to ensure the swift implementation of age verification on pornography in the upcoming months.