Ofcom Age Checks Are Working, But Search Engines Are Still a Loophole

Ofcom's first progress report on the Online Safety Act's age check rules (15 July 2026) shows real gains for UK children online, alongside some obvious gaps still to close.

The headline numbers:

• Over 69 million age checks completed across 32 services in six months, a 23-fold jump

• Children hitting a "highly effective" age check nearly doubled: 25% to 43%

• 64 of the top 100 porn sites now check age; a further 10 block UK users outright

• Seven providers already fined a combined £4.965m

The gaps:

• 33% of first-page Google results and 54% of Bing's still lead straight to unprotected porn sites, and most children who reach adult content got there via search

• Social media firms relying on "age inference" rather than proper checks are, by Ofcom's own reading, likely still missing a lot of underage users

• Over 1 in 10 under-18s were still getting onto major dating apps as of December 2025

Ofcom's message to industry is blunt: porn sites need to move faster, social platforms need better proof their methods work, dating apps need tighter checks, and Google and Bing need to help close the search loophole. A further report defining "highly effective" checks is due to Parliament by 31 October 2026, ahead of planned under-16s social media rules expected in 2027.

It's a fair sign the system is starting to bite, though clearly there's still a way to go before "compliant" means "safe everywhere."

The idea of age checks and digital identification will forever be a contentious one in the UK, with strong advocates on both sides, but if these checks go some way to protecting children, they are a step in the right direction. Tell us what you think of age checks and the implications to your use of online services?

To read the full report check out Ofcom , and also comment below because we are interested in which side of the argument people fall into.