UK police bosses say unsafe social media platforms should be blocked for under-16s

Many such features are already targeted in the Online Safety Act - a set of rules and accompanying codes which platforms must comply with to operate in the UK.

Ofcom has the power to investigate and fine companies suspected of breaching these rules.

But police argue the government should legislate to prevent under-16s accessing any platform or app which offers features deemed "high-risk".

It also wants Ofcom to be given the power to enforce platform's minimum age policies effectively and mandate the introduction of device-level nudity controls so that under-18s cannot take, share or stream nude images or videos.

Biggar said that in 2025 the NCA saw 92,000 reports of potential child sexual abuse activity online from tech companies, and the number was growing - with offending becoming more severe.

"They involve younger and younger children and we are increasingly seeing children offending as well as being victims," he said.

He argued the issue had worsened because tech firms had chosen not to make child safety "a core design principle".

"This refusal to prioritise safety by design is boosting criminals' speed and reach," added Stephens.

However, some platforms such as Instagram and Apple have looked to combat a reported rise in sextortion with tech that aims to stop children seeing or sending nude images in messages.

It is not the first time that the government has been called on to strengthen measures to prevent children from taking, seeing or sharing nude images online.

Such measures were proposed as part of the government's violence against women and girls strategy.

But former minister Jess Phillips recently accused the government of being slow to enact the measure.

Meanwhile some charities have raised concerns about end-to-end encrypted messaging - saying making messages readable only to the sender and receiver could impede efforts to find and clamp down on child abuse and grooming.

Instagram recently disabled the tech for direct messages sent on the platform, while TikTok has told the BBC it has "no plans" to introduce it.

However some experts and campaigners argue private messaging can be a vital way to preserve online privacy and data.

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