What is the online security act

Technology companies will need to take more actions to keep children in the Internet safe after presenting online security law.

The new rules come during 2025 – but critics say they don’t go so far.

Children eight to 17 years old spend between two and five hours online a day, Research by the communication regulator ofCom suggests. The time spent online increases with age.

Almost every child over 12 has a mobile phone and almost everyone watches videos on platforms such as YouTube or Tiktok.

Four in five teens who go to the Internet say they have used artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as Snapchat’s chatgt or myai.

About half of children over 12 years old think being online is good for their mental health, According to the.

But one in eight children aged eight to 17 have said someone had been bad or harmful to them on social media, or messaging applications.

Said the Child Commissioner Half of 13-year-olds of her surveyed children reported that they had seen “Hardcore, Misogynistic” pornographic materials on social media sites.

Two-thirds of parents say they use controls to limit what their children see online, according to internet issues-a security organization created by some of the big UK-based Internet companies.

Has one List of Available Parents and Step by Step Guide how to use them.

On YouTube – the most popular platform for young people in the UK – parents who want to try to prevent their children from seeing inappropriate materials can create the “child” version that filters adult content.

Parents can also create supervised accounts To review the content that older children using the YouTube’s home site can find and watch.

Supervision can also be placed on Facebook Messenger, through her family center.

Her parent company Meta provides parental checks In all its applications on social media, such as daily timelines, planned rest time and information the content with which their child interacts.

Instagram, also owned by Meta, has presented adolescent accounts for under-18 years of age, whichput them in private as default.

Similarly, under-13 years old in Roblox should get parents’ consent In order to have private conversations, in the game.

Tiktok says Her family pairing The tool allows parents to decide whether to make a teenager’s account private.

But such controls are not foolish. OFCOM data have suggested that about one in 20 children use working routes.

Phone networks can block some clear web sites until a user has demonstrated that they are over 18 years old.

Some also have parental controls that can limit the websites that children can visit on their phones.

Android and Apple phones and tablets also have checks for parents.

These can block or restrict access to specific applications, limit clear content, prevent purchases and monitor browsing.

Apple has children’s account AND Google has family ties. There are similar applications available from third -party developers.

Later in 2025, Apple says it will allow parents to share their child’s age range – rather than the date of their birth – related to their child’s account with app developers to help them provide age -appropriate experiences.

Street services also have parental controls to filter several types of content.

Game keyboard checks also leave parents to be provided Games of games and adequate control for age at the game.

Talking to children about online security and Interesting on what they do online is important, According to NPSPCC.

She recommends discussions about her part of the daily conversation, just like a conversation about their school day, which can make it easier for children to share any concerns they have.

The Online Security Act It aims to make social media firms and search engines protect children and adults in the UK from illegal, harmful material.

It became a law in 2023, with the tasks of platforms that came into force in 2025.

The act will require platforms to show that they are dedicated to removing illegal contentincluding:

• Sexual abuse of children
• Controlling or coercive behavior
• Extreme sexual violence
• Promoting or facilitating suicides or self-harm
• Wildlife
• Sale of illegal drugs or weapons
• Terrorism

Porn sites will have to stop children from looking at content by controlling ages.

Tasks to protect children from harmful content also include addressing damages disproportionately affecting women and girls, such as abuse and intimate excitement of the image.

The act has also created new works, such as:

• Internet flashing – Sending unwanted sexual images online
• The sharing of “Deepfake” porn, where artificial intelligence is used to introduce one’s resemblance to pornographic content

It also makes it easier for shy parents to get information about their children from technology companies.

OFCOM, the regulator in charge of the implementation of the act, has been given additional competence to ensure that companies respect the rules.

Requires online platforms that they value if and where users – especially children – may be exposed to certain types of illegal or harmful content in their services.

The platforms must then detail the measures to prevent this, in accordance with the codes and guidelines of OFCom.

Offender’s chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes has announced it Services that fail to follow the rules can increase their minimum user age to 18.

Some parents of children who died after exposure to the harmful content online have called the online security act “insufficient” and criticized its delays.

Shy parents including Ian Russell, Molly’s father, and Esther Ghey, Brianna’s mother, have said legislation should Set up tougher rules and a task of care for technology firms.

In August 2024, after riots across the United Kingdom, London Sadic Khan the act said did not properly handle disinformation.

Some groups of civil liberties, meanwhile, believe that its content risks hinder free expression online.

Requirements for porn sites to use technology for “powerful age controls” have also raised concerns of intimacy and security.