Addiction and social media
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It is going to be interesting to see whether the latest court case has any impact on things here. Will porn addiction be treated more seriously now?
We already have gaming addiction recognised as a real thing. Social media being treated as a cause of addiction, making the tech firms liable, could open up more avenues for people harmed by tech, such as kik for example.
The govt are also trialling different options for regulation, such as curfews and screen time limits, basically copying what China are doing already. Some sort of a crackdown appears to be on the way.
Legally though, will it affect sentencing if the person was led into extreme porn by the algorithms? That is the key question.
We already have gaming addiction recognised as a real thing. Social media being treated as a cause of addiction, making the tech firms liable, could open up more avenues for people harmed by tech, such as kik for example.
The govt are also trialling different options for regulation, such as curfews and screen time limits, basically copying what China are doing already. Some sort of a crackdown appears to be on the way.
Legally though, will it affect sentencing if the person was led into extreme porn by the algorithms? That is the key question.
I agree Edel2020.
OFCOM 2025 Children’s Register of Risks (link below) has a whole section on Pornographic content that is now ‘pervasive in the online lives of children’ with many encountering it at a young age.
“Content recommender systems play a key role in driving content discovery and personalisation in the pornography industry and may introduce consumers to more violent material… There is a growing body of clinical evidence that suggests AI algorithms can drive consumers in either of two directions. On the one hand, they teach viewers’ brains, unconsciously, to crave stronger, more violent imagery. On the other hand, they drive consumers towards a focus on sexual activities with younger people. Thus, we have escalation to violent behaviour and/or towards the consumption of CSAM.”P.52
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-1-10-weeks/statement-protecting-children-from-harms-online/main-document/childrens-register-of-risks.pdf?v=401302
Apple has now introduced device level age verification with the latest IOS update. I just wish this had been available when my young adult son was growing up and we might not be in the situation we’re in today.
OFCOM 2025 Children’s Register of Risks (link below) has a whole section on Pornographic content that is now ‘pervasive in the online lives of children’ with many encountering it at a young age.
“Content recommender systems play a key role in driving content discovery and personalisation in the pornography industry and may introduce consumers to more violent material… There is a growing body of clinical evidence that suggests AI algorithms can drive consumers in either of two directions. On the one hand, they teach viewers’ brains, unconsciously, to crave stronger, more violent imagery. On the other hand, they drive consumers towards a focus on sexual activities with younger people. Thus, we have escalation to violent behaviour and/or towards the consumption of CSAM.”P.52
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/consultations/category-1-10-weeks/statement-protecting-children-from-harms-online/main-document/childrens-register-of-risks.pdf?v=401302
Apple has now introduced device level age verification with the latest IOS update. I just wish this had been available when my young adult son was growing up and we might not be in the situation we’re in today.
There are some useful explanations of how people find the content on Ofcom. The role of large group chats in particular, where people are added by their friends and are then sent links to things by others they do not know.
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/keeping-children-safe-online/experiences-of-children/understanding-pathways-to-online-violent-content-among-children.pdf?v=368021
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/research-and-data/online-research/keeping-children-safe-online/experiences-of-children/understanding-pathways-to-online-violent-content-among-children.pdf?v=368021
This is really useful to see, thank you. Makes me so angry that young people who are just 18 are then prosecuted for falling into this trap when they were younger and were essentially sucked in.
It’s really helpful to see people sharing these kinds of resources and support systems. Navigating these types of situations can feel incredibly isolating, so knowing there are structured ways to find guidance makes a big difference.
