X recommends explicit content to UK teens. Here’s what every parent should know. 

Content Note: Descriptions of explicit sexual content 

Henry is 13 and curious. He types “sex” into X’s search bar.

Within seconds, the platform returns explicit sexual images and increasingly graphic content. X doesn’t flag them. It doesn’t block them. The platform then starts recommending more automatically in his feed.

Henry is a test account created by CCDH UK researchers. But he could be your son, your nephew, or even your student. He received real content from real accounts.

Our new research found that X returned at least one explicit sexual image in 8 out of 10 searches for basic terms like “sex”, “boobs”, “porn” from accounts simulating 13-year-olds. After those searches, X’s algorithm kept feeding explicit material into their For You feeds unprompted.

X has a policy that is supposed to prevent this. The enforcement does not seem to be properly happening.

In 2025, the Children’s Commissioner for England found that X is the most common source of pornography for children in the UK, outstripping even dedicated pornography sites. Our findings show the platform isn’t passive. X actively recommends this content for child users, and even holds opportunity for them to engage further in increasingly disturbing ways.

Lawmakers and regulators must hold X accountable. If you think children deserve better, add your name today. 

From passive exposure to direct contact with predators  

The harm doesn’t stop at a feed full of explicit content. In our testing, a simple change to default settings that is exactly the kind a curious teenager might make opened a direct line between our test accounts and strangers. 

Cathy, our account simulating a 13-year-old girl, received a DM containing a video of an adult man masturbating. X flagged the message as “might include graphic media.” It was still viewable. 

This is the pipeline: a child searches a word, gets shown explicit content, joins a community, and becomes reachable by adults with unknown intent. The platform enables every step. Grooming often starts with contact, and X is not stopping that contact from strangers to teens. 

That pattern, from curiosity to exposure to direct access by adults, doesn’t happen by accident. Platform design that prioritizes engagement over the safety of the children creates these consequences. 

X’s failure to comply with UK laws threatens children’s future 

Young people are increasingly turning to social media to look for information ahead of traditional search engines. When they go to X, the platform’s lack of robust safeguards exposes them to the kind of harmful content they would have a hard time finding through other sources.  

Since Musk’s takeover, the company has repeatedly broken from industry norms, rarely in ways that benefit their users. In January, CCDH showed that X’s Grok AI generated an estimated average of one sexualized image of a child every 41 seconds over just 11 days. 

Our new findings show that X’s behavior goes against the rules established by the Online Safety Act in the UK. The legislation is clear: platforms that host pornography must implement effective safeguards to prevent children from accessing sexually explicit material. 

The UK online safety regulator, Ofcom, began enforcing rules to protect kids online in July 2025. Nearly a year later, Musk’s X is still failing to comply with them.  

The stakes are real. This isn’t just a regulatory failure. It’s a failure that shapes what a child experiences, what they come to expect, and who gets access to them. That’s why CCDH keeps doing this work, and why we need you to stand with us. 

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