Ofcom outlines 40+ child safety measures for websites and apps to introduce from July 2025 or face large fines under the Online Safety Act, including age checks
Companies will be legally required to block children's access to harmful content under UK's Online Safety Act or face large fines
The GuardianDan Milmo
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the child-protection phase of the Online Safety Act’s rollout: Ofcom had already moved to enforce the Act’s illegal-content rules in March, following its earlier confirmation that the regime had taken effect and would expand in 2025.
The new requirements build on Ofcom’s prior work on age-assurance guidance for porn sites, moving age checks and protective design from a narrower consultation topic into a broader compliance obligation for websites and apps.
First-order effects
Websites and apps serving UK users must implement the prescribed child-safety measures from July 2025, including age checks where needed to keep children from harmful content.
Ofcom gains a clearer enforcement basis to pursue operators that do not meet those duties, with large fines as the stated consequence.
Second-order effects
Compliance work will shift toward age-assurance, content-access controls and evidence that protections operate in practice, rather than relying solely on platform policy statements.
Services that distribute or host harmful material face pressure to redesign child access flows and moderation processes, because the obligation is to prevent access rather than merely respond after exposure.
Third-order effects
The Act increasingly places responsibility for child access at the distribution layer: platforms become accountable for controlling who can reach certain content, not just for removing unlawful material.
If enforcement is sustained, UK online-safety compliance could make age assurance and child-specific product controls a durable operating requirement across consumer internet services.
The trend: This is part of a broader shift toward access-control regulation that makes online intermediaries responsible for preventing minors’ exposure to harmful content.
Some important steps taken by Ofcom to keep kids safe online - way more to be done though! And age verification and age checks are still two v different things https://www.ofcom.org.uk/...
Ian Russell has said he is dismayed by the lack of ambition in today's Children's Safety Codes. “Instead of moving fast to fix things, the painful reality is that Ofcom's measures will fail to prevent more young deaths like my daughter Molly's”, he says. https://www.independent.c…
Today you'll hear a lot of PR about Ofcom's measures to prevent children being algorithmically recommended suicide and self-harm content. In the small print, Ofcom says these apparently sweeping measures... will cost tech firms £3,000 to £20k per annum. @mollyroseorg [image]
🔒 Children in the UK will lead safer online lives as we've finalised safety measures for sites and apps to introduce from July. Tech firms must act to prevent children from seeing harmful content, and meet their duties under the Online Safety Act. ➡️ Swipe to read more.
We're building a safer online world for children across the UK. From July, social media & tech companies must implement strong age assurance and protection methods to help shield children from harmful content. [image]
Tomorrow's publication of @Ofcom's Children's Code will be a step forward for online safety, but it will likely fall short of meeting the urgency posed by online harm. It's vital Ofcom waste no time in starting the work to put this right. [image]
This is a momentous milestone for online safety in the UK. These world-leading protections will make sure that children are protected from being exposed to harmful content and can reap the benefits of our digital world.