Governments are concerned about the use of AI for fraud, misinformation, and other cyber crimes. Regulators in Regulators in the U.K. aim to explore the application of AI in combating child-related and dangerous content.
Ofcom, the regulator responsible for enforcing the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, plans to hold a consultation on how AI and other automated tools are used today and can be used in the future to proactively detect and remove illegal content online, particularly to protect children from harmful content and identify child sex abuse material that was previously hard to detect.
Ofcom released statistics suggesting younger people are more connected than ever: About 84% of 3 and 4-year-olds go online, and approximately 25% of 5-7-year-olds use cellphones. 
Ofcom’s capabilities would be part of a larger online kid safety initiative. According to Ofcom, detailed proposal consultations will begin in the coming weeks, followed by AI consultations later this year.
Mark Bunting, a director in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group, said the company will examine AI’s screening capabilities first.
“Some services do already use those tools to identify and shield children from this content,” he told Eltrys. But nothing is known about how precise and successful such instruments are. We aim to ensure that the industry evaluates the potential risks to free speech and privacy when using these instruments.
Ofcom may suggest platform evaluation methods. Platforms might adopt more advanced technologies and face punishment if they fail to filter content or prevent younger people from viewing it.
As with all internet safety laws, corporations must follow the necessary procedures and employ relevant technologies to safeguard users, he added.
The changes will have fans and detractors. Researchers are using AI to identify fakes and verify internet users. However, many doubters say AI detection is not perfect. As a result, some have criticized the consultation as pointless.
Ofcom has found that youngsters accessing internet services are younger than before; thus, it is now separating activity by age range.
Mobile gadgets particularly appeal to children. Nearly 25% of 5- to 7-year-olds possess cellphones, and 76% own tablets, according to polls of parents and students ranging from 2,000 to 3,400 (depending on the questions).
That same age group also uses media more on such devices: 65% have made voice and video conversations (compared to 59% a year ago), and half of youngsters use streaming media (compared to 39%).
Some prominent social networking applications are lowering age limits. Whatever the restrictions, the U.K. seems to ignore them. Ofcom reported that 38% of 5- to 7-year-olds use social media. At 37%, Meta’s WhatsApp is their most popular app.
In maybe the first case of Meta’s main picture app being glad to be less popular than ByteDance’s viral success, 30% of 5- to 7-year-olds used TikTok, while Instagram was “just” 22%. Though less popular at 4%, Discord rounded out the list.
30% of parents were okay with their underage children having social media accounts, while 32% of kids this age browse online alone. The most popular network for kids is YouTube Kids (48%).
Gaming is still popular with youngsters, with 41% of 5- to 7-year-olds participating and 15% playing shooter games.
Ofcom notes that what a kid sees and what they report are different, even though 76% of parents asked indicated they spoke to their young children about internet safety. Ofcom examined 8–17-year-olds and discovered that 32% said that they had seen troubling stuff online, but only 20% of their parents had.
Ofcom adds, “The research suggests a disconnect between older children’s exposure to potentially harmful content online and what they share with their parents about their online experiences,” despite reporting discrepancies. Deepfakes and disturbing material are both problems. 25% of 16- to 17-year-olds were unsure how to distinguish phony from authentic Internet information.
