Social media firms could be made to use facial recognition technology to check children's ages

Social media firms could be ordered to use facial recognition technology to check children's ages. Millions of children could have their online profiles banned by the tech giants under plans to be set out by online regulator Ofcom next spring. Social media executives have been warned they could face huge fines and even prison sentences if they fail to follow guidance designed to ensure their users are not underage. John Higham, Ofcom's head of online safety policy, said platforms would be expected to remove children's accounts from their sites by using'highly accurate and effective' AI age checks. The regulator estimates that up to 60 per cent of eight to 11-year-olds have social media profiles, despite sites such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat having minimum age limits of 13.