Social media companies, including Elon Musk’s X, are set to be investigated by Ofcom for their failure to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material online, as reported by The Telegraph.
The UK regulator will announce on Monday that it is prioritising enforcement action against online child sexual abuse, examining how social media platforms detect and remove illegal content.
The move follows data from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which revealed a record 300,000 webpages containing child abuse images or videos were removed last year.
The crackdown coincides with the implementation of new laws requiring social media firms to block illegal content, including child exploitation, terrorism, and suicide facilitation. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to 10% of their global revenue and potential jail terms of up to two years for executives who repeatedly breach their duty of care to children.
Elon Musk has faced criticism for allegedly weakening child protection safeguards on X despite vocalising concerns about grooming gangs. Since acquiring X for $44 billion (£36 billion), the platform has claimed child safety is a top priority, banning millions of accounts linked to child abuse. However, campaigners argue that changes to the site and reductions in child safety teams have increased risks for children.
Ofcom’s investigation will scrutinise how platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp comply with its regulations, which require the use of technologies like hash tagging – a digital fingerprinting system designed to detect and remove known child abuse images.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle described the Online Safety Act’s implementation as a “major step forward” in creating a safer internet. He criticised tech companies for historically treating safety as an “afterthought” and said the new laws would compel them to prioritise the removal of harmful content. Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s Enforcement Director, emphasised the urgency of compliance:
“Child sexual abuse is utterly sickening, and file storage and sharing services are too often used to spread this horrific material. Platforms must act swiftly to meet their legal obligations, and our codes of practice are designed to support them. Those failing to introduce necessary protections will face the full force of enforcement.”
However, the Government and Ofcom have faced pushback, with critics arguing the law could threaten free speech and harm trade relations with the US by imposing unfair restrictions on American tech firms. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage warned against the potential for censorship, while Matthew Lesh of the Institute of Economic Affairs expressed concern over the Act’s broad powers, stating that the prospect of social media executives facing jail time “should send chills down the spine of anyone who values free speech”.
Despite this, Kyle signalled the Government’s willingness to tighten the Act further in response to emerging threats. New legislation is already in progress to outlaw AI-generated child abuse images and videos depicting violence against women during sex.
Campaigners, however, have criticised Ofcom’s approach as “timid” and insufficient to protect children from harmful content. Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life at 14 after exposure to harmful social media content, said Monday “should have been a watershed moment” but instead, families have been “let down by Ofcom’s lack of ambition.” A government spokesperson defended the crackdown, stating:
“This decision highlights the scale of child sexual abuse online. Companies must take responsibility, and law enforcement must have the powers to bring perpetrators to justice wherever they operate.”
