Child protection online – effective or not?

As children start the new school term an assessment of Ofcom’s rules for tech firms and developing a comprehensive strategy to keep children safe online are on the agenda for discussion, and all those with responsibility for child protection and safeguarding are invited to attend. The role that schools can play in teaching children how to stay safe online will be promoted.

The webinar will be held on Tuesday, 9^th September 2025 and key speakers include Lewis Keller, Senior Policy Officer for Child Safety Online at NSPCC and Charlotte Aynsley Head of Policy and Public Affairs at UK Safer Internet Centre.

In April 2025 the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) revealed in its annual report, that it received 245 reports of AI-generated child sexual abuse imagery that broke UK law in 2024 – an increase of 380% from 2023 – comprising almost 8,000 images and some videos. The largest proportion of images was ‘category A’ material, meaning the most extreme type of child sexual abuse content.

In the same month Ofcom announced new rules for tech firms to keep children safe online. Social media and other internet platforms will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content or face large fines – and in extreme cases being shut down – under the UK’s Online Safety Act.

Opinions on the effectiveness of the new rules are divided.  Some believe that as they require tech companies to be proactive in identifying and removing dangerous material they are therefore strengthening child protection online. However the online safety campaigning charity, Molly Rose Foundation, argues the codes do not go far enough to moderate suicide and self-harm content as well as blocking dangerous online challenges.

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, has criticised the measures and accused Ofcom of prioritising tech companies’ business interests over children’s safety; while the NSPCC wants tougher measures on strongly encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp, although it describes the measures as a “major step forward”.

The webinar aims to assess Ofcom’s new safety measures for protecting children online and evaluate how they could be strengthened and evaluate the robustness of the Online Safety Act in protecting children and explore avenues for improvement. Participants will be encouraged to exchange views on whether rules placing restrictions on social media use by children should be introduced.