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Ofcom Says TikTok, YouTube Still Unsafe for Kids
(MENAFN) TikTok and YouTube have "failed to commit to any significant changes" to shield children from harmful content despite asserting their platforms are already safe, Britain's communications regulator said Thursday — warning that both services remain deeply inadequate.
"Our wealth of evidence, published today, suggests they are still not safe enough," Ofcom stated in a damning new report.
The watchdog found that since children's online safety obligations took effect in the UK in July 2025, there has been "little change" in overall exposure to harmful content among young users, with nearly three-quarters of 11- to 17-year-olds — 73% — encountering it within any given four-week period.
"Just over a third (35%) of these children recalled exposure to harmful content when they were 'scrolling on their feed," Ofcom data showed.
Half of secondary school-aged children who came across harmful material recalled encountering it on TikTok (53%), followed by YouTube — excluding YouTube Kids — (36%), Instagram (34%), and Facebook (31%).
A separate Ofcom survey conducted in November and December last year found that seven in ten children aged 11 to 17 reported encountering harmful content online, yet only 15% disclosed what they had seen to an adult.
"Our latest research shows that 84% of children aged 8–12 are still using one of the top five reaching online services, (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat) despite a minimum age of 13," the regulator added.
Ofcom further disclosed it has issued legally binding information requests to Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, demanding detailed disclosures on how each platform detects and prevents children's exposure to harmful material, and confirmed it is currently scrutinizing their responses.
"Our wealth of evidence, published today, suggests they are still not safe enough," Ofcom stated in a damning new report.
The watchdog found that since children's online safety obligations took effect in the UK in July 2025, there has been "little change" in overall exposure to harmful content among young users, with nearly three-quarters of 11- to 17-year-olds — 73% — encountering it within any given four-week period.
"Just over a third (35%) of these children recalled exposure to harmful content when they were 'scrolling on their feed," Ofcom data showed.
Half of secondary school-aged children who came across harmful material recalled encountering it on TikTok (53%), followed by YouTube — excluding YouTube Kids — (36%), Instagram (34%), and Facebook (31%).
A separate Ofcom survey conducted in November and December last year found that seven in ten children aged 11 to 17 reported encountering harmful content online, yet only 15% disclosed what they had seen to an adult.
"Our latest research shows that 84% of children aged 8–12 are still using one of the top five reaching online services, (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat) despite a minimum age of 13," the regulator added.
Ofcom further disclosed it has issued legally binding information requests to Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, demanding detailed disclosures on how each platform detects and prevents children's exposure to harmful material, and confirmed it is currently scrutinizing their responses.
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