Children in Britain stumble on violent content online, including material promoting self-harm, while still at primary school and say it is an \u201cinevitable part\u201d of using the internet, according to research published on Friday.The report underlines the challenge facing world governments and tech groups, such as Meta META.O, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, Google\u2019s GOOGL.O YouTube, Snap Inc\u2019s Snapchat SNAP.N, and ByteDance\u2019s TikTok, to enact safeguarding measures, especially for minors.Britain passed legislation last October that set tougher rules for social media platforms, including a mandate for them to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content by enforcing age limits and age-checking measures.The law gave Ofcom the power to fine tech companies if they fail to comply with the new requirements, but the penalties have not yet come into force as the regulator must produce codes of practice to implement the measure.Messaging platforms led by WhatsApp have opposed a provision in the law they say could force them to break end-to-end encryption.All of the 247 children, aged between 8-17, interviewed for the report \u2013 commissioned by Ofcom and carried out between May and November \u2013 came across violent content online mostly via social media, video-sharing and messaging sites and apps, Ofcom said.In a statement, Ofcom said the report by research agency Family Kids & Youth found that violent gaming content, verbal discrimination and footage of street fights were commonly encountered by the children.Many children said they felt they had no control over the content suggested to them and reported only a limited understanding of recommender systems \u2013 which use data to predict someone\u2019s preferred content. The children referred to these systems as \u201cthe algorithm,\u201d the report said.\u201cToday\u2019s research sends a powerful message to tech firms that now is the time to act so they\u2019re ready to meet their child protection duties under new online safety laws,\u201d Gill Whitehead, Ofcom\u2019s Online Safety Group Director, said.She said Ofcom would consult on how it can expect the industry to ensure children have an age-appropriate, safer online experience.(Reuters)violent online content. violent content, online safety, recommender systems<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Children in Britain encounter violent online content, including self-harm promotion, from a young age, viewing it as an unavoidable aspect of internet use. Research highlights the difficulties global governments and tech companies face in protecting minors online. Britain has enacted legislation requiring social media platforms to block children’s access to harmful content through age verification. Ofcom has the authority to fine non-compliant tech companies, though penalties are pending the development of implementation codes. Some messaging services, including WhatsApp, resist parts of the law that might compromise end-to-end encryption. A study involving 247 children aged 8-17 found they primarily encountered violent content through social media, video-sharing, and messaging platforms. The content ranged from violent gaming to verbal discrimination and street fight footage. Many children felt powerless against the content recommended to them and had a limited understanding of the algorithms behind these recommendations. Ofcom emphasizes the urgent need for tech firms to prepare for their child protection responsibilities under new online safety laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[862,732,195,33,3,249,988,2024,250,1991,109,252,2116,1004,2117,2086,1222,433,1806,817,1827,1313,1682,1875,494,2115,2085,18],"class_list":["post-4337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-age","tag-apps","tag-britain","tag-companies","tag-cyprus","tag-facebook","tag-fight","tag-fights","tag-google","tag-industry","tag-internet","tag-meta","tag-online-safety","tag-power","tag-recommender-systems","tag-safeguarding-measures","tag-safety","tag-school","tag-services","tag-social-media","tag-statement","tag-tech-firms","tag-technology","tag-tiktok","tag-uk","tag-violent-content","tag-violent-content-online","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n