A report commissioned by Ofcom has highlighted the value of building educational prompts into user interfaces in keeping teenagers safe from potential online perpetrators.

The findings are useful for video games companies and online platforms with user-to-user functionality (as well as platforms offering search services), which must comply with the UK's Online Safety Act 2023, as the report provides guidance on how companies might implement enhanced child safety measures before Ofcom publishes guidance.

Ofcom, the UK regulator responsible for online safety, published a report of online safety agency Praesidio Safeguarding's findings from a series of workshops it conducted with 13-17 year olds at several schools across the UK. The workshops aimed to gather teenagers' views on Ofcom's recommended measures for mitigating the risk of child users encountering child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSEA) and grooming online.

Key findings on proposed safety measures

The participating teenagers generally supported Ofcom's proposed child safety measures, with most participants confirming that they felt the measures would make their online experiences safer. They also demonstrated that they recognised the importance of addressing online grooming, but equally noted that they wanted to retain control and flexibility over their own account settings. 

Supportive information

One of the most popular measures among participants was the integration of educational prompts into the user interface at critical points in their online journey, such as when default privacy settings are changed or connection requests are received from unknown users. Participants did express the view that the information would need to be clear, concise and visually engaging to effectively capture child users' attention and ensure that the information is delivered effectively. 

User connection settings

Many participants supported the implementation of default settings which make child users less visible in user connection and networking features, such as 'suggested friends', to reduce the risk of children being discovered and contacted by potential perpetrators. 

Some teenagers – particularly the 16-17 year old contingent – were, however, concerned about the potential impact of restrictive settings on their ability to make friends and socialise online. They highlighted the importance of mutual friends in validating new connections and expressed a desire for control over these settings. 

Direct message settings 

Similarly, many participants supported default settings that prevent child users from receiving direct messages from non-connected users. On platforms without user connection functionalities, Ofcom has proposed that children will need to actively confirm if they want to receive a direct message before seeing its content. However, some participants did question the effectiveness of this measure, feeling that their curiosity may be piqued by the knowledge that a message had been sent to them, tempting them towards risky behaviour.  

Location sharing settings

While many participating teenagers supported default settings that disable the automatic sharing of a child's location information to prevent perpetrators from using location data to identify and target them, some participants expressed the need to share their location with friends and family for safety reasons. They suggested that account settings should allow for selective sharing with trusted contacts.

Key takeaways

While Ofcom's protection of children statement is still in the works, interactive entertainment platforms and wider technology businesses caught by the scope of the Act which operate services that are likely to be accessed by children should consider how they plan to implement enhanced child safety protocols – particularly, it appears, in terms of enhancing players' education about the implications of straying from default account settings.

In particular, in-scope service providers may wish to consider how the following safety by design measures might be incorporated into their product ahead of further guidance from Ofcom:  

1. User education: Integrating educational prompts into user interfaces which inform children about the risks of interacting with unknown users and the importance of maintaining privacy settings. 
2. Protective default settings: Implementing similar default safety settings to protect younger users, including limiting the visibility of child users in friend suggestions and requiring active confirmation for direct messages from unknown users. 
3. Detailed settings controls: Including flexible settings which enable all users to customise their privacy and safety preferences, empowering them to tailor their online experience. 
4. Parental involvement: Encouraging and enabling parental control over younger users' accounts to further enhance their safety, considering in particular implementing features which allow parents to monitor and manage their children's online interactions. 

A full report of Ofcom's findings from its consultation about protecting children is set to be published at the same time as its protection of children statement.