Nearly three quarters of 11 to 17 year olds saw harmful content online, Ofcom finds
Nearly three-quarters of 11 to 17 year olds have seen harmful content online in the past month, according to research published by Ofcom on Thursday.
The figure of 73% has changed little since children’s online safety duties came into force in July 2025.
Just over a third (35%) of those children said they came across harmful content while scrolling on their feed.
The findings are part of Ofcom’s Children’s Online Experiences research, published alongside the regulator’s response to its March 2026 demands for the six largest platforms to strengthen child protections.
In that response, Ofcom said it had secured new safety commitments from Snap, Meta and Roblox, but is “deeply concerned” by the response from TikTok and YouTube.
Snap will adopt all the recommended grooming prevention measures under Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes.
Adult strangers will be blocked from contacting children on Snap by default, and children will no longer be encouraged to expand their friendship groups to people they do not know.
Snap will also roll out highly effective age-checks to all users over the summer.
Roblox will give parents the ability to switch off direct chat services entirely for under-16s.
Meta will introduce a setting to hide teenagers’ connection lists on Instagram by default and roll out AI tools to detect likely sexualised conversations between adults and teenagers in Instagram direct messages.
The company will report offending accounts to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
TikTok and YouTube did not commit to any significant changes to reduce harmful content being served to children, Ofcom said.
Both platforms maintain their feeds are already safe.
Ofcom said its research suggests they are still not safe enough.
The regulator has issued in-depth, legally-binding requests for information to Meta, TikTok and YouTube on how they detect and prevent children being exposed to harmful content, and is reviewing their responses.
It is exploring using new inspection powers under the Online Safety Act, which would require firms to undergo an independent audit by a skilled expert and allow Ofcom to issue remote inspection notices to observe content detection, moderation systems, algorithms and age checks in real time.
Ofcom also said it is “not convinced” that the commitments from platforms with a minimum age of 13 will effectively prevent underage children from accessing their services.
Its research found 84% of children aged 8 to 12 use one of the top five reaching online services, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, despite a minimum age of 13.
The regulator has written to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology to advise that, if the government and Parliament want Ofcom to be able to force firms to enforce minimum age policies, this would need a clearer basis in online safety legislation.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said: “These changes have the potential to make children’s lives safer online. Ofcom’s sustained public and private pressure on the tech platforms where children spend most time has delivered some significant safety improvements – particularly against grooming. However, more change is needed, and we remain deeply concerned that, despite overwhelming evidence of harm, companies are still failing to take the necessary action to keep underage children off their platforms and make their feeds safer.”
She said: “We are determined to force through further changes, using the full extent of our powers and influence. We will also bring our evidence and experience to bear as the government considers responses to its national conversation on children’s safety and social media.”
Chris Sherwood, Chief Executive of the NSPCC, said: “For far too long, tech giants have dragged their heels by refusing to address the harmful and addictive content flooding children’s feeds and putting them at risk. This is why we strongly support Ofcom challenging tech companies and demanding transparency on how they plan to improve their platforms to protect children.”
He said: “We welcome the news that Snapchat is introducing highly effective age assurance as a step in the right direction to protect children online. This is a crucial change if measures to prevent grooming are going to make a difference for children in practice.”
He said: “However, it is deeply concerning that tech companies are still failing to recognise and address the harmful nature of their algorithms. These systems are at the heart of children’s online experiences. We must see these services go further and be held accountable for transformational change which puts children’s safety and wellbeing at the centre of platform design.”
Ofcom’s findings are published as the UK Government’s “Growing up in the online world” consultation enters its final week.
The consultation, launched by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 2 March 2026, closes at 11.59pm on Tuesday 26 May 2026.
It is seeking views on age restrictions on social media and other online services, restrictions on features such as livestreaming and disappearing messages, and new rules for AI chatbots.
There is a separate survey for children and young people aged 10 to 21.
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