Children are drawing on fake moustaches and using fake birthdays to bypass age verification measures on social media and gaming platforms, according to a new report. The research, by online safety organisation Internet Matters, found that more than a third of UK children have circumvented age gates implemented under the Online Safety Act.
The report surveyed 1,000 children and found that 46 per cent believe age checks are easy to bypass, with 32 per cent admitting to having done so. One in six parents admitted to helping their child get past age verification. One mother reported catching her son using an eyebrow pencil to draw a moustache, which verified him as 15.
The Online Safety Act requires pornographic sites, social media, and online platforms likely to be accessed by children to check their age. Social media sites typically require users to be at least 13, while pornographic sites require users to be over 18. The report found that 49 per cent of children had encountered harmful content online recently.
Internet Matters said the Act is “beginning to shape children’s online environments for the better” but called on the government to hold regulators and platforms to account. “Children continue to encounter harmful content at unacceptable rates, while age verification measures are often ineffective in practice or easy to bypass,” the report stated.
A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology spokesperson said the law is “crystal clear” that platforms must protect children. “Companies must stop turning a blind eye while children are exposed to harm,” they added. Ofcom said the report “underlines why the Online Safety Act matters” and warned that weak age checks are “not good enough”.
