Most adults have no idea what children see on social media, and if they did, they would be horrified.

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Young boys are being shown pornography and violence. And I don’t mean just some; most 13-year-old boys have seen porn on social media. And young girls are being shown material that makes them hate themselves. The NEU have done a brilliant and terrifying simulation of what children see on these apps, and it’s sickening.

Even worse, this is not content children are seeking out. It is content they are powerless to prevent being exposed to, with big tech serving it up to them through algorithms they cannot control. Seventy per cent of boys report seeing real life violence online, while only 6 per cent say they were looking for it.

LBC’s own Online Safety Day investigation showed how quickly a newly created TikTok account posing as a 13-year-old girl was exposed to disturbing material. Children are not choosing this content. Big tech is choosing it for them.

Bereaved parents have spoken with extraordinary courage about losing their children and are urging the Government to act now so other families are spared the same loss.........

© LBC