Age Verification Online
The Inquiry recommends (as originally stated in its The Internet Investigation Report, dated March 2020) that the UK government introduces legislation requiring providers of online services and social media platforms to implement more stringent age verification measures.
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedWe accept the need to protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content. The Online Safety Bill requires all in-scope companies to assess whether their service is likely to be accessed by children and, if so, deliver safety measures for them.
The Government has completed a feasibility study exploring the opening up of datasets for the training and testing of age assurance tools. Online Safety Act age verification provisions enforced from 25 July 2025 by Ofcom. The Government will continue to monitor whether the Online Safety Act is appropriately tackling the issue of children accessing social media below the minimum ages set in firms' terms of service, and will consider further intervention if needed.
Progress Timeline
Online Safety Act child safety duties commenced 25 July 2025, including age verification requirements. Ofcom monitoring enforcement. Government completed feasibility study on age assurance tools.
Completed feasibility study on datasets for age assurance tools; monitoring Online Safety Act enforcement by Ofcom. Study findings publication imminent.