"How many children have to die before online safety is taken seriously?" asks bereaved Essex Mum
Tech companies will now become accountable for taking down any illegal material from their services
As tech companies today become accountable for any illegal material on their services, we're hearing from an Essex Mum, whose son died after she believes he took part in an online challenge.
The next set of illegal harms duties, regulated by Ofcom, come into force on 17 March 2025.
That means platforms will have to start implementing appropriate measures to remove illegal material quickly when they become aware of it, and to reduce the risk of ‘priority’ criminal content from appearing in the first place.
Every site and app in scope of the new laws had until 16 March 2025 to complete an assessment to understand the risks illegal content poses to children and adults on their platform.
Written on Ofcom's website: "from 17 March 2025, sites and apps will then need to start implementing safety measures to mitigate those risks".
Some of the changes Ofcom expect from services include:
- Senior accountability for safety - each provider should name a senior person accountable to their most senior governance body for compliance with their illegal content, reporting and complaints duties.
- Better moderation - easier reporting and built-in safety tests. Tech firms will need to make sure their moderation teams are appropriately resourced and trained so they can remove illegal material quickly when they become aware of it, such as illegal suicide content.
- Protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation online
Hollie Dance, who has met with Ofcom to give her personal account of what happened to her son, tells Greatest Hits Radio these regulations have been "a very long process".
Archie Battersbee died accidentally following a "prank or experiment" that went wrong, a coroner concluded.
At 12 years old, he was found unconscious at the family home in Southend-on-Sea on 7 April.
He died four months later in August, following his parents' legal battle with the NHS hospital treating him in London.
Ms Dance has been giving talks to parents in schools: "I was thrown into a whirlwind after Archie died - the internet, its dangers, how sinister it is - If I'd known all this beforehand, I do believe Archie would be here today."
"The new regulations are brilliant but it's frustrating waiting for it to unfold - I hear stories on a daily basis of parents losing their children because of social media, children taking their own lives because of it.
"One child's life should be enough, it's frustrating how long it's taken to get here.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said:
"For too long, sites and apps have been unregulated, unaccountable and unwilling to prioritise people’s safety over profits. That changes from today.
"The safety spotlight is now firmly on tech firms and it’s time for them to act. We’ll be watching the industry closely to ensure firms match up to the strict safety standards set for them under our first codes and guidance, with further requirements to follow swiftly in the first half of next year.
"Those that come up short can expect Ofcom to use the full extent of our enforcement powers against them.