Months after a global wave of increased vigilance introduced stricter age-verification requirements under online safety laws, new research suggests the measures are proving ineffective at preventing children from accessing harmful online content.
In some cases, children have cleverly bypassed age-detection systems by drawing a mustache on their faces.
A new report by UK online safety organisation Internet Matters found that many children view age checks as a minor obstacle rather than a meaningful safeguard. The group surveyed more than 1,000 children and parents across the UK and concluded that the systems are often easy to circumvent.
According to the findings, 46% of children said online age checks were easy to bypass, while only 17% described them as difficult.
Common methods included entering a false birth date, using another person’s identification documents or tricking facial age-estimation systems with video game characters or simple disguises.
The report cited cases in which children successfully fooled age-detection software by drawing facial hair, including mustaches, onto their faces.
Although nearly half of respondents believed the systems were easy to evade, 32% admitted they had personally bypassed age restrictions online.
The report also highlighted the role parents play in undermining the safeguards. Internet Matters found that 17$ of parents admitted actively helping their children bypass age checks, while another 9% said they were aware of the behavior but chose not to intervene.
Researchers said some parents believed supervised access to restricted online spaces was acceptable if they felt they understood the risks involved.
“When speaking to parents and children about these situations, they described scenarios in which parents felt they understood the risks involved and, based on their knowledge of their child, were confident the activity was safe,” the organization said.
The findings raise broader questions about the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act’s central aim of shielding children from harmful online material.
49% of children surveyed admitted they had recently encountered harmful content online, suggesting that even users who do not actively bypass restrictions are still exposed to inappropriate material through platform algorithms and feeds.
The report comes amid growing scrutiny of how online platforms implement the new safety requirements. Recent debates have focused on whether companies are doing enough to enforce age restrictions and whether regulators have been too lenient in overseeing compliance.
Discord recently announced measures that would treat users as underage unless they verified otherwise, while campaign groups and lawmakers have continued pressuring regulator Ofcom over enforcement of the legislation.
Internet Matters chief executive Rachel Huggins said stronger action was needed from both governments and technology companies.
“Stronger action is needed from both government and industry to ensure that children can only access online services appropriate for their age and stage and where safety is built in from the outset, rather than added in response to harm,” she said.
Huggins also pointed to recent discussions between the British government and social media companies on tackling online harms, describing them as an opportunity to improve protections for children online.
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