The government is proposing new laws to help safeguard children online by compelling social media platforms to tackle harmful content.

If passed, the new online safety bill would require tech platforms to fulfil a duty of care function, which would be overseen by Ofcom. Failure to deal with harmful and abusive content would result in heavy financial sanctions.

A recent study found that fewer parents felt the benefits of their children being online outweighed the risks, with the proportion falling from 65% in 2015 to 55% in 2019.