Ofcom Warns Social Media Firms as Survey Shows 22% of Children Falsify Age Online

Ofcom has issued a warning to social media companies, indicating that they will face penalties if they do not implement substantial additional measures to address the issue of children misrepresenting their age online. A recently published survey, conducted by the UK media regulator, reveals that 22% of individuals aged eight to 17 falsely claim to be 18 or older on social media applications. This situation persists despite the Online Safety Act (OSA) mandating platforms to enhance age verification processes, a requirement set to become effective in 2025. Ofcom informed the BBC that its “alarming” findings underscore the extensive work required by technology companies to comply with this new legal benchmark, adding that non-compliance would lead to enforcement actions. The regulator emphasized that children’s ability to appear as adults heightens their vulnerability to harmful content. “Platforms need to do much, much more to know the age of their children online,” Ian Mccrae, Ofcom’s Director of Market Intelligence, stated to the BBC. He further commented that 2025 represents a “huge year” where a “real step change in online safety” is anticipated. Mccrae affirmed that Ofcom intends to “take action” against companies that fail to adhere to the OSA, noting that the legislation permits fines amounting to 10% of a company’s global revenue. While several technology companies have recently introduced initiatives aimed at enhancing social media safety for younger users, such as Instagram’s introduction of “teen accounts,” a different reality emerged when BBC News interviewed a group of teenagers at Rosshall Academy in Glasgow. Every student interviewed admitted to using adult ages for their social media profiles. “It’s just so easy to lie about your age”, explained Myley, 15. She elaborated, “I put in my actual birthday – like day and month – but when it gets to the year, I’ll just scroll ten years back.” Another pupil, Haniya, also 15, added, “There’s no verification, they don’t ask for ID, they don’t ask for anything.” BBC News also encountered no obstacles when establishing accounts on several prominent platforms, utilizing newly created email addresses. An age exceeding 18 was provided for the user without any requirement for verification. Ofcom asserts that this practice must be altered in the upcoming months. “Self-declaration of a child’s age is clearly completely insufficient,” stated Mr Mccrae. Significant public apprehension exists regarding the exposure of children to detrimental online content, partly fueled by the widely reported deaths of teenagers Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey. This concern prompted the previous government to enact the OSA, which, starting in July 2025, will compel social media platforms to implement what Ofcom terms “highly effective age assurance.” While the specific technologies for bolstering the verification process have not been detailed, Ofcom indicated it is evaluating various systems in its laboratories and plans to provide “more to say” in the new year. The Molly Rose Foundation, established in memory of Molly Russell, characterized the statistics as “incredibly shocking,” asserting that they demonstrate the simplicity with which existing online age checks can be circumvented. “This means that many children will not be protected from harmful suicide and self-harm content when regulation comes in because tech companies are failing to enforce their own rules,” stated Andy Burrows, the chief executive. The BBC sought comments from the most widely used platforms among children and young people in the UK. TikTok issued a statement, saying, “Every day we remove thousands of suspected underage accounts.” It further noted, “We’re exploring how new machine learning technology can enhance these efforts and co-leading an initiative to develop industry-wide age assurance approaches that prioritise safety and respect young people’s rights.” Both Snapchat and Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, chose not to provide statements. X, previously known as Twitter, did not respond to the BBC’s inquiry for comment. The government has previously faced calls to reinforce the Online Safety Act, with critics arguing its provisions are insufficient. On Thursday, the Australian parliament approved a government bill that would prohibit social media access for individuals under 16 years old—a measure that Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has previously indicated he is willing to consider adopting.