The UK Online Safety Bill expected to pass by early 2023 and media literacy tips

The UK is preparing to become among the first countries in the world to introduce comprehensive new laws aimed at making online users safer – see Ofcom’s roadmap to online safety regulation.  Ofcom’s latest research highlights the risks of harm to children online and reports that over three-quarters (77%) of young people aged 8-17 have their own social media account. Many of the youngest users – between 8-12 – had assistance from a parent or carer to set up their account, despite the minimum age requirement on most platforms being 13. The main motivation behind parents or carers willingness to set up accounts was to ensure their child did not feel left out. One mum with an 11 year old son explains, “I think I set his [social media account] up with my email address, it probably has my age on it too. That’s actually a problem, isn’t it? The algorithm might be treating him like a 42-year-old. That’s food for thought”.  In an effort to help promote media literacy, Ofcom has created helpful tips on how to keep kids safe while online. Examples include communicating openly with their child about being online, using parental controls to restrict access to certain websites and to always check their child’s online age. More information can be found here.