UK child safety advocate says social media grooming is growing easier on apps
Child protection campaigner Simmons-Read warned that the UK's planned 2027 ban on social media for under-16s 'doesn't go far enough' and could be circumvented by criminals, potentially also deterring young people from reporting grooming. He called for tech platforms to invest more in detecting exploitation as it happens. The government said it is drafting legislation to block children from viewing or sharing nude images on devices, while Meta said it restricts contact between adults and unconnected teens and uses behavioural signals to flag possible grooming.