6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
The Indo Daily: Porn and violence in the 'digital age crackdown': Are children safe online?
However, despite a nine-month lead-in for the likes of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and X, it seems there are still major issues to be ironed out.
As it turns out, children are still able to access adult-themed content, including hardcore pornography. Irish Independent Technology Editor Adrian Weckler created child user accounts to test out any age-related barriers that may be in place on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X.
'I used a new computer, a new browser, nothing that had any fingerprints of me or my previous browsing history,' he said.
'None of them asked me to do anything but self-declare my age. And most of them allowed me to watch full adult content, full intimate sexual content, torture videos, extreme violence, and lots of other things.'
In the UK, it's a similar story, as enhanced age verification checks for adult-related online material come into effect today, amid a storm of privacy concerns.
'It's faced a huge amount of criticism, especially within the Conservative Party,' says Sophie Peachey, Assistant News Editor with The News Movement.
'A lot of people are worrying that it's overreaching, and that it limits free speech and it's intrusive, especially when you feel like you're in sort of a surveillance state being watched online.'
On this episode of The Indo Daily, host Kevin Doyle is joined by Adrian Weckler and Sophie Peachey, to try to answer what might seem like a simple question, though one that has become increasingly complicated – is it even possible to keep children safe on the internet?
