Ofcom head says age checks are ‘really big moment’ for children’s online safety

Campaigners, many of them bereaved parents, say the new rules will still allow young people to access harmful material. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Rex/Shutterstock

The UK’s chief media regulator has promised age verification checks will prove a “really big moment” in the battle to keep children safe online, even as campaigners warn she needs to take tougher action against big technology companies.

Melanie Dawes, the head of Ofcom, said on Sunday that the new checks, which have to be in place later this month, would prove a turning point in regulating the behaviour of the world’s biggest online platforms.