Ofcom explains how it wants social media platforms to keep out under-16s

Date:
Thu, 29 Oct 2026 13:44:29 +0000

Description:
Under-16s won't be allowed on social media platforms from some point next year, and here's how Ofcom says it could happen.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Ofcom has assessed the best
ways of enforcing age checks online The regulator also identifies methods
that aren't effective Around 4 in 10 under-16s plan to try to get around the ban in the UK Back in June, the UK government ruled that under-16s should be banned from social media platforms, with enforcement scheduled to start
during the first half of 2027. Now the communications regulator Ofcom has set out the ways it expects tech companies to abide by the law.

The challenge isnt simply checking someones age. Its doing so without turning everyday internet use into an identity check. Pieter Arntz, Malwarebytes In its new announcement (via the BBC ), Ofcom highlights four "highly effective" methods for keeping under-16s out of apps and off sites they shouldn't be accessing and they're all going to be familiar to anyone who's used
age-gated services online in recent times. The four methods are photo ID matching (using something like a passport or driving license), bank-based checks (Ofcom says 90% of UK 16-17 year-olds have a bank account), digital ID services (a third-party service like EasyID or Yoti), and facial age estimation via a webcam (which Ofcom says is best deployed as a secondary check). Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

This is a "rapid assessment" from Ofcom, and none of these approaches are confirmed yet UK lawmakers will take the suggestions on board, and decide
the best way to enforce the rules at a later date, most probably before the end of the year. All of these methods can be delivered "in a way that
protects users' privacy" according to Ofcom.

Ultimately though, it will be down to tech companies to decide how to implement age checks that fulfil the requirements set down by the government. "Here are things that can work, they must preserve privacy, they must protect people's data, but it's on you to put in place what you think works for you," Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes told the BBC . You may like Greece passes under-15 social media ban, and every user may soon have to prove their age First your age, next your identity: Inside the 'hack' that broke the EU age verification app's privacy promises Age verification failed. Regulating VPNs won't fix it Challenges ahead The recommendations put forward by Ofcom (Image credit: Ofcom) Ofcom also lists checks that it thinks are ineffective: self-declaration, general contractual agreements, and verifiable parental consent. The regulator also acknowledges that "the risk of circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated", but says that correctly implemented
safeguards should "significantly reduce the likelihood" of unauthorized access.

In its rapid assessment announcement, Ofcom also encourages app stores to
take more responsibility over age checks. Right now, self-declarations are most commonly used to unlock downloads for age-restricted content. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The challenge for social media platforms is that teenagers dont like to be told no. Olli Krebs, SVP EMEA at Incode These are going to be tough rules to enforce, whatever the approach is: recent research from EE suggests that 42% of 11-15 year-olds are planning to try and get around whatever restrictions are put in place. This could be by switching to apps or platforms not covered by the new laws, including messaging services and gaming sites.

Last week Ofcom also admitted that the Online Safety Act introduced in July 2025 had so far made "no significant change" to the harmful content children had been exposed to online. The act was intended to ensure protection from content involving pornography, serious violence, suicide material, racism, misogyny, and bullying.

"This finding is concerning and shows that further progress is needed to protect children online," says Ofcom . The regulator also recommended adding material around body stigma and depression to the primary content categories that children should be protected from online. What to read next Meta settles its alleged social media harm case for $18B and agrees to massive changes that may be almost impossible to enforce Forget Wetherspoons patchwork bans won't fix the Meta glasses' privacy crisis, so what comes next? France blocks under-15 social media ban over freedom of expression fears Analysis: What do privacy experts think? (Image credit: natureaddict / Pixabay) Ofcom's proposals are likely to spark some familiar privacy concerns and security experts told us they aren't without foundation.

The challenge isnt simply checking someones age. Its doing so without turning everyday internet use into an identity check," said Pieter Arntz, Senior Malware Intelligence Analyst at Malwarebytes. "Photo ID matching brings
highly sensitive documents and facial images into the process, potentially creating another attractive target for criminals. The risks arent hypothetical: as I reported last year, a breach at a third-party support provider for Discord exposed government ID images belonging to around 70,000 users," he said.

Even if facial estimation techniques are more secure, there are are still downsides. "Facial age estimation can avoid uploading an identity document, but it still processes a sensitive image and makes an imperfect prediction," Pieter Arntz added. "Ofcom itself acknowledges that some technologies have a margin of error of a few years at 16, meaning people near the threshold may face an additional verification check," he said.

"My preference is double-blind verification: a provider confirms that you
meet the age requirement but doesnt learn which service youre accessing,
while the service receives proof of age without learning your identity. Proving you are old enough should not mean revealing who you are," he said.

Others feel the risks are more around teenagers finding workarounds. The challenge for social media platforms is that teenagers dont like to be told no. Many will conform, but tech-savvy young people are going to search for an open window on the ground floor," said Olli Krebs, SVP EMEA at the identity verification software provider Incode. "If the process is clunky, users of
all ages will actively seek ways around it," he added.

Those workarounds could unintentionally make the problem worse. "The experience of countries such as Australia is that there will be a real risk
of an increasingly technologically sophisticated population of young people will resort to a variety of circumvention techniques (primarily, but not exclusively VPNs) to access content hosted outside of the UK," said Will Richmond-Coggan, Partner specialising in Data and Privacy Disputes at
Freeths.

"Such content is liable to be less well regulated generally, and to pose further risks of users gaining unsupervised access to progressively more dangerous and problematic content in relation to which the UK online safety legislation is largely powerless to take action," he added.

None of this will be perfect. Young people will always push boundaries, and anyone promising a hundred per cent online safety is being unrealistic," concluded Olli Krebs from Incode. Exactly how successful it is depends very much on how the social media giants implement Ofcom's suggested age-check methods.

What you think of the social media ban, and Ofcom's new proposals? Let us know in the comments below. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Today's best phone deals Contract Deals Sim Free voucher gift Google Pixel 11 Pro 48 months Unlimited mins 5GB data 30 upfront 55.53 /mth View at EE See
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/social-media/the-risks-arent-hypothetical- ofcom-reveals-age-check-plans-for-uk-social-media-ban-but-privacy-experts-aren t-convinced


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