Overhaul algorithms and age checks or face fines, tech firms told

Websites will have to change the algorithms that recommend content to young people and introduce beefed-up age checks or face big fines, the UK media regulator has confirmed.

Ofcom says its "Children's Codes" - the final versions of which have now been published - will offer "transformational new protections".

Platforms which host pornography, or offer content which encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorders are among those which must take more robust action to prevent children accessing their content.

Ofcom boss Dame Melanie Dawes said it was a "gamechanger" but critics say the restrictions do not go far enough and were "a bitter pill to swallow".

The new rules for platforms are subject to parliamentary approval under the Online Safety Act.

The regulator says they contain more than 40 practical measures tech firms must take, including:

If companies fail to abide by the regulations, Ofcom said it has "the power to impose fines and - in very serious cases - apply for a court order to prevent the site or app from being available in the UK."

Children's charity the NSPCC broadly welcomed the Codes, 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 platforms cannot see what is being sent.