The United Kingdom takes measures to protect minors on the Internet: is a solution verification a solution?

The Internet changed the rules of the game forever, opening global connection opportunities never imaginable, but the digital environment has become a mined terrain for the most vulnerable: Children and adolescents. The safety of the little ones has become the center of the debate in the United Kingdomwhere measures have already been implemented on social networks and other Internet platforms.

Since last July 25, Internet users of all ages in the United Kingdom They are forced to demonstrate their age before being able to access certain websites, Under the country’s online security law, better known as the “online Safety Act.”

According to Ofcom figures, the United Kingdom communications regulatory body and responsible for the application of the law, children up to 8 years have accessed online pornography, while 16% of adolescents They have seen material that stigmatizes body types or promotes eating disorders in the last month. That is why new regulations have entered into force under the Online Security Law to protect children under 18 years of harmful content online.

United Kingdom hardens the standards and demands age verification in adult sites

As they point out from The Guardian, Companies subject to the law are enforced in this way Implement security measures to protect minors from harmful content. “This means that all pornography must implement rigorous age verification procedures.”

Measures include that Algorithms that recommend content to users must filter the harmful material. For example, all websites and apps must have procedures for rapid elimination of dangerous content; and minors must have access to a clear mechanism to report risk situations.

Likewise, the big social media platforms must implement age controls, or in case of not using age controls, deberán guarantee adequate experience for minors on the site. For example, X (Before Twitter) has declared that if you cannot determine if a user is 18 years or older, the configuration of sensitive content will be assigned by default and will not be able to see adult material.

For its part, Metasocial media matrix such as Instagram y Facebooksays it has a multifaceted approach for age check. For example, it has modalities of accounts for adolescents (default configuration for children under 18) that according to the company, already offers a user experience “appropriate for the age” of young users.

Age controls to prevent minors from seeing harmful content

The regulations, which entered into force since July 25, forces the platforms and social networks to implement The requirement for users to demonstrate their ageavoiding that children under 18 access harmful materials related to self -harm, eating disorders or suicide.

But, as they point out from the Financial Timesa growing number of users in the United Kingdom are resorting to tools to overcome this blockade. For example, the VPNS constituted half of the 10 most popular free applications in the United Kingdom App Store for iOS this weekend, according to the Apple classification.

In this sense, from ofcom stressed that while age checks are not a definitive solution, but stressed that they are an important step when it comes to stop access. In addition, as the medium points out, The agency is already evaluating the level of compliance by the platformsand those companies that do not fit the requirements will face sanctions.