Ofcom Warns Social Media Companies About Children Misrepresenting Their Age Online
The UK media regulator Ofcom has issued a stark warning to social media companies about children circumventing age restrictions, revealing that 22% of eight to 17-year-olds are lying about their age to access adult-oriented platforms.
A recent survey highlighted the ease with which young people can misrepresent their age online. Teenagers interviewed at Rosshall Academy in Glasgow candidly explained how simple it is to bypass age verification. One 15-year-old, Myley, described her method of simply scrolling back ten years when entering her birth year, while another student, Haniya, noted the complete lack of meaningful verification processes.
The BBC’s own investigation confirmed these claims, successfully creating multiple social media accounts using fabricated ages without any challenge. This prompted Ofcom’s Director of Market Intelligence, Ian Mccrae, to emphasize that “self-declaration of a child’s age is clearly completely insufficient.”
The issue stems from the upcoming Online Safety Act (OSA), which will require social media platforms to implement robust age verification mechanisms by July 2025. Ofcom has made it clear that tech companies must significantly improve their age assurance techniques or face severe consequences, including potential fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
The urgency of this matter is underscored by public concerns about children’s online safety, particularly in the wake of high-profile tragedies involving teenagers Molly Russell and Brianna Ghey. These incidents have highlighted the potential risks of unrestricted online access for young people.
Some platforms are taking preliminary steps to address the issue. TikTok, for instance, claims to remove thousands of suspected underage accounts daily and is exploring machine learning technologies to enhance age verification. However, other major platforms like Snapchat, Meta, and X have been less forthcoming about their strategies.
Internationally, the conversation about protecting young people online is gaining momentum. The Australian government is considering a radical approach of banning social media for under-16s, an idea that the UK’s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, has indicated he might be open to exploring.
Ofcom is currently testing various age verification systems and plans to provide more detailed guidance in the coming year. The regulator emphasizes that 2025 will be a crucial year for online safety, expecting a “real step change” in how social media platforms protect younger users.
The message is clear: social media companies must develop more sophisticated and reliable methods to verify users’ ages and prevent children from accessing potentially harmful content. Failure to do so could result in significant financial and regulatory consequences.
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the challenge remains to balance online accessibility with robust protection for young and vulnerable users.
