How charities keep children safe online

Two in three children are harmed online thorough racism, sexist content, bullying, and contact with strangers. It is a shocking statistic that was revealed in 2025 by Internet Matters, a non-profit organisation run by UK internet service providers.

 

The research, which also found the mental health of children exposed to such online harms is worsening, was released amid a broader national conversation around online threats to young people.

 

The issue has come under particular scrutiny following the 2025 release of Adolescence, a drama which explored the dire consequences of online threats and toxic masculinity among young boys.

 

Here we look in detail at this research into online threats facing young people and the wider discussion on the issue, including how politicians are reacting. We then showcase some of the charities supporting children and parents.

 

 

Emotional resilience

 

The high proportion of children in 2025 experiencing online harm has not improved in recent years, according to Internet Matter’s research. It also found that children’s resilience to online threats is “weakening”. More than a third of children found online threats upsetting or frightening in 2025, up from under a quarter in 2024.

 

The proportion of children who said they are upset or scared by violent content is up over the same period, from one in five to one in three. Meanwhile, over this period the proportion of young people being upset by content promoting unrealistic body standards has doubled, from just under one in ten in 2024 to one in five in 2025.

 

Children are finding it “harder to harder to navigate and recover from the challenges of the digital world”, warns Internet Matters, which surveyed more than 1,000 children aged between nine and 16 and their parents for the research.

 

Parents told researchers that online threats “are becoming more distressing for children”. But parents are acting. Internet Matters found they are “becoming more confident and enforcing stricter boundaries”. Two thirds say they know what their child posts on social media, compared to three in five in 2024. More are also putting in place clear rules around screen time and are turning off the Wi-Fi in their homes at certain times.

 

 

The legal context of online safety

 

Politicians are acting, too, with The Online Safety Act becoming law in 2023 and its duties on social media platforms to protect children coming into effect in 2025.

 

This requires platforms to remove content including child sexual abuse, controlling behaviour, extreme sexual violence, promoting or facilitating suicide or self-harm, animal cruelty, selling drugs or weapons, and content promoting terrorism.

 

It creates new offences around acts such as sending unsolicited sexual imagery online and sharing ‘deepfake’ pornography, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to insert someone’s likeness into pornographic content. This is backed by strengthening regulator Ofcom’s powers and also requiring platforms to review where and if young people can be exposed to illegal or harmful content. Platforms that fail to comply could see minimum user age increased to 18.

 

Also, in 2025, a Safer Phones Bill was introduced by Labour MP Josh MacAlister. This stopped short of calling for a ban on smartphones among pupils in school but does include measures to give parents greater guidance on device use and calls for further research into the impact of social media on young people. While unlikely to become law, as a private members bill, it can help influence government policy.

 

Welsh Parliament the Senedd also discussed tackling online harm facing children. Its petitions committee considered a 3,000 strong petition in 2025 calling for a ban on phone use in schools. But  members instead favoured seeing more support for schools to set their own restrictions.

 

 

Charities tackling online harm

 

Several charities and not for profit organisations are offering support to young people and parents around online harm.

 

Among digital safety advice offered by children’s charity Barnardo’s is guidance for parents and carers on how to keep children safe. Tips include focusing on the positives of the internet, creating a safe space for children to talk about issues, and not blaming or shaming children if they have seen harmful content.

 

 

Children’s charity Save the Children launched an education initiative with Vodaphone Foundation in 2025 across Europe to improve the digital skills and resilience of children aged between nine and 16. This covers issues such as online safety, digital rights, and ethical online behaviour.

 

Internet Matters is offering advice to parents on online safety. This includes tailored guidance through its Digital Toolkit on setting up safety settings on devices, how to tackle challenging issues, and general tips on talking to children about online safety.

 

Another children’s charity to offer advice is NSPCC. This includes a useful blog for families by its Child Safety Online Project Officer, Sarah Rutty, which covers definitions of online harm, the impact of such content on young people, and how to support children when they have experienced threats online.