The United Kingdom communications regulator, Ofcom, has conceded that its initial initiatives to safeguard minors from toxic internet material have produced virtually zero measurable results.

Empowered by the Online Safety Act 2023, Ofcom was tasked with compelling technology corporations to block children from accessing pornography, extreme violence, suicide material, racism, misogyny, and cyberbullying, alongside mandating comprehensive risk evaluations.

Yet, an internal review evaluating the regulatory regime's first nine months reveals that the landscape remains entirely unaltered.

Alarming Findings From the Frontlines

According to our evidence, at a total level there was no significant change in the proportion of children encountering harmful content over the first nine months after the children’s safety duties came into force in July 2025. This finding is concerning and shows that further progress is needed to protect children online, the report stated.

Children continue to report that encountering harmful content negatively impacts their wellbeing. There is no new evidence indicating a change to the severity of harm experienced by children as a result of encountering harmful content.

The assessment revealed that 14% of adolescents aged 11 to 17 encountered suicide or self-harm material within a four-week window, while 23% stumbled upon eating disorder content and 49% faced hate speech.

Documented instances ranged from explicit pornography and misogynistic, racist, and homophobic abuse to promotional material for eating disorders and the death of Charlie Kirk. Highlighting the deadly stakes, a coroner recently determined that suicide-related posts on TikTok contributed to the tragic death of 14-year-old Adriana Retyte earlier this year.

Young people, who we supported to contribute to the report, said they regularly see content about pornography, suicide and self-harm and that content in relation to bullying, hate, abuse, violence, harmful substances and encouraging dangerous stunts and challenges is everywhere.

Linda Jardine, director of children and family services at the charity Children First, emphasized the urgent need for action: Ensuring that the Online Safety Act accurately reflects the types and severity of content that children see online is crucial, but unless the level of exposure is reduced, children will continue to experience significant harm to their physical and emotional health, wellbeing, relationships and development.

Regulator Defends Record and Seeks Expanded Powers

Ofcom countered criticisms by explaining that the review period predates its aggressive enforcement push against major platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Snap, Roblox, and TikTok, noting minor improvements within Minecraft, Call of Duty, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook.

Despite these shortcomings, the watchdog is actively seeking authority to expand restricted content categories. It aims to reclassify body stigma and depression content—currently categorized as non-designated—into priority harms.

The evidence continues to show that children encounter body stigma content and depression content and that these kinds of content present a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children in the UK, particularly in relation to the cumulative impact of exposure to these kinds of content, the regulator argued.

Looking ahead to next spring, Ofcom is set to supervise a social media ban targeting under-16s and intends to publish guidelines regarding highly effective age assurance. However, critics note that if these measures mirror Australia's comparable legislation, enforcement could prove easily circumventable.