Stories

Thu, 21 May 2026

Thu, 21 May 2026 UK police bosses urge unsafe platforms to be blocked for under-16s

The NCA and NPCC say children should be blocked from accessing sites which do not stop them seeing nudes or being contacted by strangers.

* Children should be blocked from accessing social, AI and gaming apps that don't disable "high-risk" features such as private messaging.
* UK police chiefs are calling for a ban on platforms that allow children to be contacted by strangers, view or share harmful content, and share nude photos.
* The National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) want regulators to enforce platform's minimum age policies effectively and mandate device-level nudity controls.
* Tech firms must protect children online, according to the government, which backs regulator Ofcom to act against those who fail to comply.
* The NCA director general says the online environment is not safe for children and that the industry response has been too slow.
* Police chiefs want to prevent under-16s accessing any platform or app with "high-risk" features, including private messaging, recommended harmful content, and sharing nude photos.
* 92,000 reports of potential child sexual abuse activity were made by tech companies in 2025, according to the NCA, with offending becoming more severe and involving younger children.
* Some charities have raised concerns about end-to-end encrypted messaging, saying it could impede efforts to find and clamp down on child abuse and grooming.