What are Ofcom's new rules about keep children safe online?

Ofcom has shared the final version of its new rules to help children have safer experiences online.

The rules will apply to social media and gaming sites and apps used by young people in the UK, with the aim of stopping children from seeing harmful or inappropriate content.

Ofcom - the regulator that oversees TV, radio and the internet in the UK - said it worked with tens of thousands of children, parents, companies and experts to come up with the rules.

Tech companies will have to make changes to the technology they use that recommends content to young people, and introduce better age checks by 25 July 2025 or they could face big fines.

Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said the new rules are a "gamechanger".

But Children's Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza, whose job it is to protect the rights of children, says she is disappointed with Ofcom's rules.

"Our new rules will mean safer social media feeds with less harmful and dangerous content, protections from being contacted by strangers and effective age checks on adult content." Ofcom told Newsround.

"We want children to have a better time online with far less harmful content. We should all feel safer online so we can enjoy the good things about it – gaming, speaking to friends, looking for information."

But the Children's Commissioner said "I made it very clear last year that its proposals were not strong enough to protect children from the multitude of harms they are exposed to online every day."

"I am disappointed to see this code has not been significantly strengthened and seems to prioritise the business interests of technology companies over children's safety."

The new rules need approval from UK parliament, and will then become part of wider online safety laws created by the UK government called The Online Safety Act, which aim to protect everyone from illegal and harmful content online.

It makes tech companies legally responsible for their users' safety, and gives Ofcom powers to enforce these laws – including taking action against companies that don't break the rules.

What are the new rules?

Ofcom say their new rules have more than 40 guidelines that tech firms must follow, including:

• Algorithms - tech which offers you content users may like - must be changed to filter out harmful content from children's feeds.

• Stricter age checks for people accessing age-restricted content.

• Taking quick action when harmful content is identified.

• Making terms of service easy for children to understand.

• Giving children the option to decline group chats invitations which may include harmful content, and to block and mute accounts and to disable comments on their own posts.

• Providing support to children who come across harmful content.

• Having a "named person accountable for children's safety" at the organisation.

• A yearly review of possible risks to children.

How will things change?

The new rules and the Online Safety Act won't ban children from using social media, or set a minimum age for them to use it.

But, they do say that social media companies must regularly enforce their age limits and protect their child users.

That may involve preventing children from accessing all of a site or app, or only some areas or content.

Children's charity the NSPCC welcomed the rules, calling them "a pivotal moment for children's safety online."

But they called for Ofcom to go further, especially when it came to private messaging apps which are often encrypted - meaning social media companies cannot see what is being sent.

Ofcom told Newsround: "Our rules are game-changing and go further than ever before to protect children online.

But our work doesn't end today, we know the online world is always moving forward and our rules will too."