The decision becomes much more difficult due to the inflammatory nature of the coverage.
Research findings
- A new study has found that young teenagers on TikTok can easily access hardcore porn content. Researchers at the non-governmental organization Global Witness created fake accounts for 13-year-olds and were quickly offered highly sexualized search terms.
- Despite setting the app to «restrictive mode,» the researchers were able to click through to videos showing everything from women flashing to penetrative sex.
- Most of these videos had been created in such a way that they were designed to evade discovery, and TikTok has moved swiftly to take them down.
The impact on legislation
- The fact that these videos were easy to find is a fresh blow to the UK Online Safety Act. The act, which came into force over the summer, requires tech companies to prevent children from being able to access pornography and other harmful content.
- There have already been reports that Meta’s efforts to make Instagram safer for young people are similarly ineffective.
Concerns about VPNs
- There are also concerns about a surge in VPN downloads and traffic to pirate sites by users aiming to get around the restrictions in the act. Some are now calling for VPNs to be banned, though that seems unlikely.
The challenges for parents
- It would be easy for parents reading these reports to conclude that there is nothing that can be done to make the internet safe for their children. Many will increasingly be tempted to ban access outright rather than try to navigate the risks in a more measured way.
The importance of age checks and moderation
- Certainly, the act was introduced for good reason. According to research published in 2025, one in 12 children were being exposed to online sexual exploitation or abuse. An EU report from 2021 that surveyed more than 6,000 children also found that 45% reported they had seen violent content and 49% had encountered cyberbullying.
- Yet there is a danger in downplaying progress. Since the act was introduced, most of the top 100 adult sites have introduced age checks or blocked UK access—and so have sites that allow pornographic content, such as X and Reddit.
The role of media coverage
- It wouldn’t be the first time that media coverage has over-focused on the online risks to children. Take Roblox, for instance. Launched in 2006, it’s a «virtual universe» that allows users to create their own content. As of 2025, it has over 85 million daily active users, of which 39% are below the age of 13.
- The site has come in for heavy criticism for incentivizing harmful content by rewarding creators for attracting high engagement from other users, while lacking adequate content moderation to prevent violations of the rules.
The need for balanced reporting
- To stress, there are online risks parents need to contend with, but the way these risks are reported does not help. TikTok, for instance, has been in trouble over its content before. In 2022, research by the Center for Countering Digital Hate concluded that children can be exposed to harmful content every 39 seconds.
- Given that some parents already lack confidence in managing digital technology, this kind of sensationalist language doesn’t help. This 2024 study points to the «joy, connection and creativity» that children also experience on the platform.
Historical context
- In truth, we’ve been hearing about the technological threat to children for a very long time. The 1935 New York study, Radio and the Child, argued that radio presented a new insidious threat as it encroached into the family home and children’s bedrooms.
- A 1941 study from San Francisco, Children’s Reactions to Movie Horrors and Radio Crime, called the technology a «habit-forming practice very difficult to overcome, no matter how the aftereffects are dreaded.»
- Soon came the 1964 Television Act, which introduced the 9pm watershed. It prevented broadcasters from showing programs unsuitable for children before that time, which seems quaint next to today’s concerns.
The reality of managing online risks
- The reality is that restrictive approaches by parents can be counterproductive, especially as they may encourage children to be evasive. Children’s instincts, according to the research, are to talk about potentially harmful material with their parents, but they’re less likely to do so if parents take a hard line since it makes them fear they’ll be judged.
- The alternative is for parents to adopt a strategy of negotiated decision-making with their children. Instead of viewing online material as alien or inherently negative, it becomes proactively integrated into family life.