Judge us by impact of new online safety measures for children, says regulator
While some campaigners have welcomed the new protections – which include age checks to prevent children accessing pornography and other harmful content – others have branded them a 'sticking plaster'.
Charities and other organisations working in the sector of children's safety have agreed the key will be ensuring the measures are enforced, urging Ofcom to 'show its teeth'.
The changes also require platforms to ensure algorithms do not work to harm children by, for example, pushing such content on the likes of self harm and eating disorders towards them.
Actions which could be taken against firms which fail to adhere to the new codes include fines of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, and court orders potentially blocking access in the UK.
Mr Kyle has said a generation of children will not be allowed to grow up 'at the mercy of toxic algorithms' as he pledged the Government is laying the foundations for a safer, healthier, more humane online world and warned tech firms 'will be held to account' if they fail to act in line with the changes.
He told Sky News: 'I have very high expectations of the change that children will experience.
'And let me just say this to parents and children, you will experience a different internet really, for the first time in from today, moving forward than you've had in the past. And that is a big step forward.'
The measures, as part of the Online Safety Act and set to be enforced by regulator Ofcom, require online platforms to have age checks – using facial age estimation or credit card checks – if they host pornography or other harmful content such as self-harm, suicide or eating disorders.
Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said the regulator's research had shown half a million eight to 14-year-olds have come across pornography online in the last month alone.
When it was put to her by the BBC that one of their staff members testing out the new measures had been able to sign up to a well-known porn site on Friday using just an email address, she said sites will be 'checking patterns of email use' behind the scenes to verify users are adults.
She told Radio 4's Today programme: 'We've shown that we've got teeth and that we're prepared to use them at Ofcom. And we have secured commitments across the porn industry and from the likes of X that no other country has secured. These things can work.
'Judge us by the impact we secure. And absolutely, please do tell us if you think there's something we need to know about that isn't working because the law is very clear now.'
She also said the Government is right to be considering limits on the amount of time children can spend on social media apps.
Earlier this week, Mr Kyle said he wanted to tackle 'compulsive behaviour' and ministers are reportedly considering a two-hour limit, with curfews also under discussion.
Dame Melanie told LBC: 'I think the Government is right to be opening up this question. I think we're all a bit addicted to our phones, adults and children, obviously particularly a concern for young people. So, I think it's a good thing to be moving on to.'
Children's charities the NSPCC and Barnardo's are among those who have welcomed the new checks in place from Friday, as well as the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF).
The IWF warned the 'safeguards put in place need to be robust and meaningful' and said there is 'still more to be done', as they urged tech platforms to to build in safeguards rather than having them as 'an afterthought'.
The Molly Rose Foundation – set up by bereaved father Ian Russell after his 14-year-old daughter Molly took her own life having viewed harmful content on social media – said there is a 'lack of ambition and accountability' in the measures, and accused the regulator of choosing to 'prioritise the business needs of big tech over children's safety'.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the foundation, told Sky News: 'We've always had a very simple test for the Online Safety Act, will it stop further young people like Molly from dying because of the harmful design of social media platforms?
'And regrettably, we just don't think it passes that test. This is a sticking plaster, not the comprehensive solution that we really need.'
Ofcom said it has also launched a monitoring and impact programme focused on some of the platforms where children spend most time including social media sites Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, gaming site Roblox and video clip website YouTube.
The sites are among those which have been asked to submit, by August 7, a review of their efforts to assess risks to children and, by September 30, scrutiny of the practical actions they are taking to keep children safe.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
No 10 brushes off calls for extra bank holiday to mark Lionesses' victory
The England women's team will celebrate their victory with a visit to No 10 on Monday evening, followed by an open-top bus parade through central London on Tuesday. The Lionesses defended their Euros title in a penalty shootout win over Spain in the final in Basel, Switzerland, on Sunday. The Government had already indicated it was unlikely to heed calls for an extra bank holiday to herald England's success. On Monday, the Prime Minister's official spokesman attempted to make light of calls for the additional day off work. 'If we had a bank holiday every time the Lionesses win we'd never go to work,' he told reporters. He added: 'It is a tribute to the success of the Lionesses. The Prime Minister has said how inspiring their incredible victory was last night, and the team has captured the hearts of the nation. 'We look forward to joining the rest of the country celebrating this incredible win.' The spokesman pointed to the plans for a parade and the Downing Street reception as part of the Government's efforts to ensure the team has a warm welcome on their return to the UK. Bank holidays have a costly impact on the UK economy, and various governments have been reticent to introduce additional public holidays. Analysis by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport estimated the cost of the additional bank holiday to mark Elizabeth II's platinum jubilee in June 2022 was £2.4 billion. Elsewhere, the Prime Minister's spokesman insisted there was an independent process for nominations for honours, when asked about calls for the team to be recognised for their victory. However, in a rare show of support from the Government for members of the team to receive nominations, he added: 'I hope we'll see lots of nominations for this incredible winning team. 'Many of them were honoured after their incredible Euros win just three years ago, and everyone can see what an amazing job Sarina (Wiegman) and the team have done for this country in terms of its historic win, and women's sport more generally.' Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will host the Downing Street reception for the England team on Monday night. Asked if Sir Keir Starmer was disappointed not to be at the event, his spokesman insisted the Prime Minister was 'obviously very pleased to be meeting President Trump up in Scotland'. He added: 'I'm sure he (the Prime Minister) will have a chance to celebrate with them in the future as well.'
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Adult social care vacancies down but domestic recruitment still ‘challenging'
Posts filled by people with a British nationality since 2020/2021 fell by 7%. The Government has previously pledged to 'end the reliance on overseas recruitment' but Skills for Care's latest report has said there must be a focus on 'how we attract and keep more people domestically'. In the most recent year alone, the twelve months to March, the number of posts filled by British nationals fell by 30,000, the organisation, which is the strategic workforce development and planning body for adult social care in England, said. The organisation measures posts filled rather than the number of people, because a person might hold more than one post and roles might also be shared. In rules which came into effect last week, new applications for care workers and senior care workers under the skilled worker visa were closed, as part of Government efforts in 'restoring control over the immigration system'. In April the Government implemented new rules saying that care providers would have to prove they had attempted to recruit a worker from within England, before looking overseas. The latest Skills for Care report said domestic recruitment 'remains challenging for the sector' and that the new immigration rules from July 'will make it more challenging for the sector to continue to grow in line with demand'. The organisation re-stated its previous projection that an extra 470,000 people will need to be employed in the sector by 2040 to meet the needs of a growing older population. The report said: 'A substantial increase in recruitment and retention of staff with a British nationality would likely be required to achieve this level of growth.' Under the previous Conservative government, a ban on international care workers bringing dependants to the UK led to a sharp drop in health and care visas in the months after the measure came in. The latest Skills for Care report said an estimated 50,000 people arrived in the UK in 2024/25 to start direct care-providing roles in the independent sector, down from 105,000 the previous year. Of the 50,000 recruited internationally, an estimated 10,000 came on a health and care worker visa, while the rest came on other routes, potentially including student visas and family members of people arriving in the UK on other visa types. Overall, the number of adult social care posts filled between 2023/24 and 2024/25 rose by 52,000 to 1.6 million. The vacancy rate has also fallen to 7.0%, with 111,000 vacant posts on any given day in the year to March. This is down from an 8.3% vacancy rate in the year to March 2024, when there were 126,000 vacant posts on any given day. The vacancy rate hit a high of 152,000 vacant posts a day in the 12 months to March 2022. Oonagh Smyth, Skills for Care's chief executive, said while the falling vacancy rate is 'encouraging', the sector 'can't afford to be complacent'. She said: 'We need to protect ourselves from the wild swings in vacancy rates driven by the wider economic picture. 'It's important to recognise that, while the vacancy rate in social care has reduced, it's still three times that of the wider economy.' She urged investment in 'stable recruitment and retention' and efforts to make roles 'more attractive to the domestic workforce over the long term' including through development opportunities, improving the quality of roles and supporting positive cultures within organisations. She added: 'We know there's lots more to do, though. Everyone, from Government to care providers, from regulators to frontline staff, has a role to play in building the workforce we need to deliver the best possible care and support for the people in our communities who draw on local services.' The Government has been contacted for comment. The Social Care Institute for Excellence said the drop in the vacancy rate was a 'cause for optimism' but the system remained 'precariously dependent' on overseas workers. Chief executive Kathryn Marsden said: 'This overreliance is not a sustainable strategy and it leaves the entire care system vulnerable to policy changes and political headwinds beyond its control.'
The National
an hour ago
- The National
A true just transition will save jobs and the planet
We have families here who have been working in oil and gas for generations. We have communities whose very fabric was built around that industry. We're in the middle of a major shift. The decline in oil and gas production isn't something in the distant future, it's already happening. And with it, the jobs are going – some reports have said we're facing Grangemouth-scale losses on a weekly basis across the North-east. I want to be really clear that I truly believe the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to a just transition. And I support that – I welcome it. And it's not just words, it has been backed by action. READ MORE: Sandie Peggie 'wanted to post bacon through mosque letterbox', tribunal told We've seen investment coming into the north-east through the Just Transition Fund, and recently we saw the launch of a new oil and gas transition training programme tailored specifically to our region. That's vital, because we're not talking about abstract change, we're talking about retraining real people for real jobs in sectors like renewables, offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture. I recently visited the St Fergus gas terminal in my constituency, a place that is central to the UK's energy supply, processing about a third of the gas the UK uses. It was eye-opening, and it gave me a deeper appreciation of just how skilled the workforce is, and how deeply embedded the oil and gas sector is in our local economy. And that's why I think we need to be really honest about what the transition means in practice. Because it's not just about switching energy sources, it's also about making sure that we don't leave entire communities behind as we move forward. Of course we must protect our climate and meet our climate obligations. I have grandchildren, and want to make sure the world we leave behind for them is sustainable. But we also must be honest about how we do that in a way that doesn't destroy jobs and decimate local economies in the process. A return to Thatcher and the treatment of the coal mines and their workers must be avoided at all costs. That's why the word 'just' really matters. We must make sure people whose work powered our country for decades aren't tossed aside now that we're changing direction. What I hear a lot from people is that if Scotland and the UK are still consuming oil and gas (which we are), and if we're not drilling for it ourselves here, then where is it coming from? Are we just importing it from elsewhere? And if so, are we not just offshoring our carbon footprint? It's a fair question. And I think it's one that we need to answer properly. Because when we talk about reducing emissions, are we measuring the carbon we produce in Scotland, or the carbon we use? Those are very different things. It would feel like smoke and mirrors if we claimed a reduction in emissions simply because we're not drilling here, while still burning the same amount of fuel that has been shipped in from abroad. The public deserves transparency on that. We can't pretend we're doing better for the planet if all we're doing is moving the problem offshore. From what I understand, most UK emissions accounting is based on what we produce territorially. But that doesn't reflect what we consume. And when you look at that difference, it raises big questions about how honest we're being with ourselves. This leads me to another question that I want to put to the public. If we are assuming we won't license new oil fields, if that is the direction of travel, then what are the consequences? Not just for emissions, but for jobs, for our energy security, and for local economies like ours? If we're not producing enough of our own energy, we're leaving ourselves vulnerable to the whims of global markets and political figures such as Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin. We need to add that into the equation when we're talking about what's realistic, responsible, and safe for Scotland's future. I'm not here to say 'drill baby drill', absolutely not. I firmly believe in our climate responsibilities. But I also believe we must think practically, not just ideologically. Is our current position realistic? Is it fair? Is it in line with what other countries are doing? That brings me to Norway, a country that often gets held up as the gold standard in balancing energy and climate goals. Norway is still drilling. It is investing in renewables, yes, but the country is also using the oil and gas sector to fund the green transition. Is that something we can learn from? Is there a model that supports jobs and meets climate targets? Public money alone won't be enough. To really shift our economy at the scale we need, we must have significant private investment too. That includes renewables, yes, but it can also come from oil and gas companies willing to invest in cleaner technologies. There's a huge opportunity here. We can align climate objectives with economic growth if we get this right. Right now, key powers over energy policy and licensing are still held by the UK Government. That limits what the [[Scottish Government]] can do, even when the will is there. So, I suppose what I'm calling for an honest conversation. We need to stop pretending it's one or the other, we either save the planet or save jobs. It's not enough to have big ambitions if we don't have the infrastructure, investment and workforce to get us there – without hurting the people who built this country's energy industry in the first place. And of course, the big question is: will it help secure our future as an independent nation, because if so, we need it on the balance sheet.
