On the 20th January 2026, the Government announced that it would consult on children’s social media use “to protect young people’s wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences.”

In light of this, and considering our belief in transformative justice approaches as the best means of driving systemic change for social problems, we do not support proposals for blanket bans - such as the barring of children under the age of 16 from social media platforms.

Today Ofcom have released their finalised guidance, as per the Online Safety Act, towards keeping women and girls’ safe online. The guidance is the conclusion of the years-long campaign Glitch and others undertook to ensure women and girls were considered in legislation for the online environment. 

Glitch welcomes the opportunity to respond to Ofcom’s consultation on additional safety measures under the Online Safety Act (OSA), with a particular interest in Sections 8 and 9 regarding proactive technologies (PTs) and 14 on recommender systems.