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The government must be tougher on social media platforms to keep children safe

We’re calling for the UK government to take tougher action on social media giants, as Childline releases details of the most-frequently-mentioned platforms in contacts and calls.

Childline, which supports children and young people by phone, messaging or 121 counsellor chat, revealed that the top 10 social media platforms and apps were mentioned more than 5,5001 times in the year to March 2026. The platforms mentioned most often in contacts to the NSPCC service over 12 months were:

1. TikTok – mentioned 1,781 times.2
2. Snapchat – 1,106 mentions.
3. Instagram – 569 mentions.
4. Roblox – 550 mentions.
5. YouTube – 530 mentions.

The top three most common concerns children raised around TikTok related to mental health, online sexual abuse and exploitation, and their wider digital behaviour.

Around half of the children referencing TikTok were 15 and under, highlighting the need for robust age checks on the platform when the social media ban for under 16s comes into law in spring 2027.

Last month, Ofcom launched an investigation into the quality of TikTok’s age checks.

Robust age assurance is just one part of changes needed. After the social media ban becomes law, 16 and 17-year-olds will still have access to apps like TikTok, highlighting the need for stronger actions to detect and remove harmful content. 

A 14-year-old boy3 who contacted Childline said: “I shared an image on TikTok and then someone asked me for money, saying they would send it to all of my followers if I didn’t pay. I was really scared and didn’t know what to do.

"I didn’t want to tell my parents because I thought they would be angry; but later on, my mum found me crying and I told her I was being blackmailed. I reported it, but I still feel scared about what might happen.”

Strong age checks will be a crucial first step in delivering a meaningful social media ban for under 16s. But we remain concerned that – in the face of the ban – under-16s may turn to other less protected online spaces to connect with their peers. 

This includes online gaming platforms, AI services and messaging services. These sites must also remove dangerous design features that enable harm and undermine the wellbeing of young users. 

NSPCC CEO Chris Sherwood said: “It’s concerning but unsurprising to see how many children are coming to Childline to speak about social media platforms and TikTok in particular. Tech giants should treat this as yet further evidence of their failures to give children safe and healthy experiences online.

“Ofcom is right to investigate whether TikTok have failed to introduce accurate age checks, but this must be the start of a tougher crack down on all those platforms that are exposing children to a devastating range of harms. 

“If nothing changes, children of all ages will continue to be exposed to dangerous content even when the social media ban takes effect next year. The evidence from Australia shows platforms haven’t introduced robust solutions that work and many young people have been able to bypass weak age checks leaving them exposed to harm.

“Ofcom and the government must show their teeth and prove the UK are up to the job of holding Big Tech to account for protecting children and young people online.”

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Notes

1. Word search data is generated by searching free-text advice notes written by counsellors for relevant keywords. This data shows the number of mentions of platforms searched in ALL Childline counsellor case-notes (including all main concerns, not only online main concerns).

2. While almost a third of counselling sessions which mentioned TikTok were about online-related issues such as online sexual abuse, online bullying and online harms, other issues were discussed such as mental/emotional health, family relationships and friendship issues. Mentions of the app also included neutral/positive experiences.

3. Snapshots are based on real Childline contacts but are not direct quotes. All names and potentially identifying details have been changed to protect the identity of the child and/or adult involved.