CCDH responds to UK Government consultation on children’s use of social media
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) welcomes the Government’s consultation on children’s use of social media. This process reflects a simple but urgent reality: social media companies have failed to make their platforms safe for children, despite the requirements of the UK’s Online Safety Act.
CCDH’s research before and after the Act’s passage shows that harmful content continues to be recommended to young users, including material promoting self-harm, eating disorders, hate and abuse. Our investigations have repeatedly demonstrated that platform algorithms amplify harmful content at speed, that safety systems inconsistent, and that protections are easily circumvented. In many cases, risks to children are not incidental but are exacerbated by product design choices that prioritise engagement, growth and advertising revenue.
The Online Safety Act established clear duties on platforms to assess and mitigate risks to children. Yet the persistence and proliferation of harmful material indicates that companies have not met the spirit or letter of those obligations. Children are still being exposed to recommendation systems engineered to maximise screen time and exploit psychological vulnerabilities.
CCDH supports decisive action now because children cannot be expected to navigate digital environments that are systemically unsafe. Where platforms fail to comply with their legal duties, further regulatory intervention becomes necessary. We will engage constructively with this consultation and submit detailed evidence drawn from our body of research documenting the harms children face online.
As the Government considers next steps for UK online safety, the priority must be clear: children’s safety must take precedence over the commercial interests of technology companies. Consultation must not become delay. Existing powers should be used robustly, and reforms should ensure that platforms are not reliant on children or their parents for safety, but with safety inbuilt by design.
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