{"id":117755,"date":"2025-09-06T03:09:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T03:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/117755\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T03:09:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T03:09:13","slug":"fears-over-online-safety-act-as-vast-majority-of-brits-worry-what-their-kids-are-watching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/117755\/","title":{"rendered":"Fears over Online Safety Act as vast majority of Brits worry what their kids are watching"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plenty of British parents aren’t sure about the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act, and worry about just what their kids are consuming on the internet<\/p>\n

09:49, 04 Sep 2025Updated 09:56, 04 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

\"PussycatKimberly Wyatt is helping promote safer technology for families(Image: Simon Lawson \/ Cover Images)<\/p>\n

Almost nine in ten British parents fear their children are being exposed to harmful material on the internet despite the new Online Safety Act coming into force this summer.<\/p>\n

New research shows that 87.5% remain concerned about what their children might encounter, with 27% saying their kids have already come across inappropriate or dangerous content.<\/p>\n

The figures cast doubt on the effectiveness of the act, passed last year by the Conservative government and backed by Labour. It requires social media platforms and search engines to introduce age checks and stronger content moderation.<\/p>\n

While 92% of parents are aware of the change in law, only half believe it goes far enough to keep kids safe online, according to the study commissioned by children\u2019s tech company Xplora.<\/a><\/p>\n

The survey also highlights the scale of the problem; 19% of 13-year-olds report being asked to share sexual images while 30% have experienced online bullying. Meanwhile 37% of eight year olds say they have been pressured to take part in internet trends or challenges.<\/p>\n

Plenty of Brit parents are worried about their kids’ online habits(Image: Simon Lawson \/ Cover Images)<\/p>\n

Former Pussycat Doll and mother of three Kimberly Wyatt, has partnered with Xplora to promote safer technology for families.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cAt home we\u2019ve set boundaries, like no phones in bedrooms. Family time is sacred to me, and I\u2019ve found it really important to set these rules early on.<\/p>\n

\u201cNavigating the school smartphone ban is tricky because of the \u2018cool factor.\u2019 Around the age of 10, children are working out where they fit in, who their tribe is, and they naturally want to feel accepted. Not having a smartphone can sometimes make that harder.<\/p>\n

“That\u2019s why I believe a ban could actually take some of the pressure off parents, who are constantly trying to gauge the situation and strike the right balance.<\/p>\n

“My daughter is in her last year before secondary school, which is such a big stage of growing up. Technology is going to play a huge role in that transition, so for me it\u2019s about helping her understand the risks while giving her the tools to make positive choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Xplora, we\u2019ve found a brilliant compromise. It gives me peace of mind as a parent, but also offers her the independence she\u2019s been craving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite widespread concern, one in five parents admit they don\u2019t use parental controls on their child\u2019s smartphone, citing complexity and poor usability.<\/p>\n

Devices such as Xplora\u2019s X6 Play and HMD Fusion X1 allow children to call and message only parent-approved contacts and block access to the internet or social media entirely. The research shows 65% of parents would feel more confident protecting their children if devices included stronger built-in safety features and app restrictions.<\/p>\n

The phones also include real-time GPS tracking, a feature cited by over 70% of parents as the main reason for giving a child a phone plus \u2018School Mode\u2019 which silences notifications and calls during lessons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plenty of British parents aren’t sure about the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act, and worry about just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117756,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2864,1638,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-117755","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-internet","8":"tag-family","9":"tag-internet","10":"tag-technology","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117755\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}