BRITS should have to use face ID to access social media to prevent kids from stumbling on porn, the Children’s Commissioner has said.
Rachel de Souza also urged parents to put age controls on if they buy an internet-connected phone for a child.
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It comes as Children’s Minister Will Quince reveals he won’t get a mobile for his daughter, ten, at the moment as he is worried about the dangers online.
Pupils told the pair during a school visit that they had seen porn and other sick content and faced harassment from the age of nine.
Dame Rachel said the Online Safety Bill will toughen rules to protect kids, such as making porn sites use age verification to make sure users are over 18. It has been left up to tech firms to decide how to make it work.
She urged the firms to find “a moral compass” to help limit kids’ potential exposure to harmful content.
She called for “firmer age gates” to control access to sites as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as face recognition.
She said: “I’d like to see stronger age verification. Whether it’s credit cards, or AI. I think the future on this is AI.
“Lots of children tell us they first saw porn on social media when they were 11, 12 and 13. This can’t go on.”
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Mr Quince, meanwhile, said he “felt like a bad dad” for not allowing daughter Catherine to have a phone.
When the time comes, he said, he will set strict time limits on when she can use it and educate her as much as possible on how to do so safely.
He said: “Some children know more than I ever will. That’s terrifying.”
