Senior UK police officials have declared that the online environment is fundamentally unsafe for children, calling for a ban on under-16s using social media, gaming, and artificial intelligence apps that include private messaging features. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) argue that tech companies have failed to adequately protect minors from harmful content, stranger contact, and the sharing of nude images.
In a joint statement, the agencies said that platforms which do not shield children from harmful content recommendations, allow the sharing of explicit images, or enable strangers to contact minors should be off-limits to those under 16. This push comes as the UK government consults on a potential social media ban for under-16s, with options including age limits, outright bans, or app curfews. The government has also backed regulator Ofcom to take action against non-compliant tech firms.
‘Enough is enough’
NCA director general Graeme Biggar was blunt: “Our assessment is clear: the online environment in its current form is not safe for children. The industry response has been too slow, while the problem has been getting worse. Enough is enough.” He added that tech companies must either effectively stop children using those features or make them safe, and if they do not, the government should ban them for under-16s.
NPCC chairman Gavin Stephens described the online space as “something of a wild west,” where regulation and law lag behind advancing technology. “The risk to children and the harms caused are severe and wide-ranging. The online space has made it too easy for criminals, abusers, fraudsters and extremists to target the most vulnerable in our society and destroy lives,” he said.
Both agencies stressed they prefer children to benefit from social media safely rather than face a full outright ban. However, they insist that platforms must remove features that make them particularly harmful at scale: easy discovery of large numbers of children, unmonitored contact by strangers, encrypted or private messaging, algorithms promoting illegal or harmful content, and the ability to share or stream nude images. Inadequate age checks to prevent children from accessing adult content are also a key concern.
The UK’s Online Safety Act already sets out rules and codes for platforms, but many companies continue to violate them. Ofcom can investigate and impose fines, but the police want it to have the power to enforce minimum age policies and tighten nudity controls at the device level. This would aim to prevent minors from taking, sharing, or streaming nude pictures and videos, as cases of child sexual abuse arising from online activity continue to grow alarmingly in the UK.
Some platforms, including Apple, Instagram, and TikTok, have begun measures to prevent children from seeing or sending nude content in messages, such as disabling direct message technology. However, concerns about data leaks and online privacy if private messaging features are removed remain unresolved.
The debate in the UK echoes broader European discussions about child safety online. The European Union’s Digital Services Act also imposes obligations on platforms to protect minors, though enforcement varies across member states. The UK’s approach, while outside the EU, could influence policy in other European countries, particularly as the continent grapples with balancing safety and privacy.
As the UK government moves forward with its consultation, the police chiefs’ call for a ban on under-16s using certain apps marks a significant escalation in the debate over how to make the internet safer for children.
