Snap, Roblox and Meta Promise UK Child-Safety Changes as Ofcom Presses Platforms
Summary
Snap, Roblox and Meta promised UK child-safety changes after Ofcom pressure, including limits on adult contact, parental chat controls and AI detection of likely sexualized conversations. Ofcom said TikTok and YouTube made no significant commitments.
Key points
- Snap said it will adopt all grooming-protection steps in Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes, including restricting adult contact with children on Snapchat in the UK.
- Roblox will let parents disable direct chats for children under 16.
- Meta plans to hide teens’ Instagram connection lists by default and use AI to identify likely sexualized adult-teen conversations in direct messages.
- Meta said it will report detected offenses to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and take action against offenders.
- Ofcom said TikTok and YouTube did not commit to significant changes, and warned it may act if promised improvements are delayed or poorly implemented.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Ofcom regulatory pressure prompting child-safety commitments from social media platforms
- Impact
- Snap, Roblox, and Meta committed to changes intended to reduce grooming risks and improve protections for children in the UK. Snap said it would adopt all grooming-protection steps in Ofcom’s Illegal Harms Codes; Roblox said parents would be able to disable direct chats for children under 16; and Meta said it would hide teens’ connection lists by default on Instagram and use AI to identify likely sexualized conversations between adults and teens in direct messages. Ofcom said TikTok and YouTube had not committed to significant changes and warned it would scrutinize implementation and consider further action.
Vendors
MetaMajor tech firms including Snap, Roblox, and Meta have pledged new safety changes for children in the UK after pressure from Ofcom, with measures focused on limiting adult contact, improving age checks, and reducingRobloxMajor tech firms including Snap, Roblox, and Meta have pledged new safety changes for children in the UK after pressure from Ofcom, with measures focused on limiting adult contact, improving age checks, and reducingSnapMajor tech firms including Snap, Roblox, and Meta have pledged new safety changes for children in the UK after pressure from Ofcom, with measures focused on limiting adult contact, improving age checks, and reducingTikTokOfcom said TikTok and YouTube did not commit to significant changes and warned it will keep pushing platforms to strengthen protections for young users.YouTubeOfcom said TikTok and YouTube did not commit to significant changes and warned it will keep pushing platforms to strengthen protections for young users.
Products
Facebook#OfcomInstagram#OfcomSnapchat#OfcomTikTokOfcom said TikTok and YouTube did not commit to significant changes and warned it will keep pushing platforms to strengthen protections for young users.YouTubeOfcom said TikTok and YouTube did not commit to significant changes and warned it will keep pushing platforms to strengthen protections for young users.