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Two-Thirds of UK Children Comply with Social Media Age Verification as Government Runs Pilots and Consultation
A report shows UK children are evading age checks by using fake birthdays, borrowed logins and drawn-on moustaches. The findings come as the government prepares further restrictions for under-16s and the EU urges faster rollout of similar systems. President Trump has declared opposition to such measures.
May 7, 3:30 AM·2m read1 source
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More than a third of UK children have figured out how to bypass the age verification system for social media, according to a report from Internet Matters. Children have bypassed the checks by entering fake birthdays, borrowing logins and drawing on fake moustaches to fool facial age estimation technology.
One parent caught her son using an eyebrow pencil to draw a fake moustache, after which the age verification system verified him as an adult.
The UK Online Safety Act imposed age verification requirements on social media platforms. A tweet by Basil the Great on May 5, 2026 stated that UK government age verification checks have been brought down by children wearing fake moustaches. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and junior minister Olivia Bailey confirmed the UK government will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions on social media for under-16s.
A national consultation on UK social media age or functionality restrictions for under-16s closes later in May 2026. Pilots testing social media bans, time limits and digital curfews for children are already running in hundreds of homes in the UK. The EU Commission adopted a recommendation urging Member States to accelerate implementation of age verification on May 5, 2026 or prior.
The EU's age verification system was defeated in minutes after its soft launch in April 2026. President Trump declared opposition to UK-EU style internet crackdowns and censorship measures. ZeroHedge reported on the developments, which highlight ongoing challenges to online age verification efforts in both the UK and EU.
