New rules have failed to lower amount of harmful online content faced by children, experts say

Roughly a quarter of eight- to 15-year-olds reported being ‘bothered’ by some form of contact or content online, unchanged since last year. File picture

Children are still encountering harmful content online at an alarming rate despite the introduction of new legal obligations intended to reduce underage access to platforms, experts have warned.

Despite new regulatory obligations, child safety measures on popular platforms, including Snapchat and Tiktok, have not translated into meaningfully better experiences for children, according to CyberSafeKids.

Roughly a quarter of eight- to 15-year-olds reported being ‘bothered’ by some form of contact or content online, unchanged since last year, according to its annual report published today.

For a second year in a row, gaming platform Roblox is the most popular platform for younger children. Of the children who reported negative experiences online, 58% named Roblox as the place where these happened.

There also appears to have been an escalation in the number of young teens encountering sexual content online, 24% compared to 10% last year, the vast majority of which was pushed to them (22%) and not sought out (2%).

CyberSafeKids’ tenth annual report also documents the “explosive growth” in children’s use of generative AI such as chatbots, with many reporting using AI to look up information or for schoolwork.

Its survey of more than 7,000 children and teens across Ireland also found:

• A significant increase in the number of students reporting exposure to scams, bad or fake information;
• 62% of eight- to 12-year-olds attending DEIS primary schools own a smartphone, more than twice the level observed in non-DEIS schools;
• Access to YouTube (63%), Snapchat (21%), and TikTok (20%) remains high for children between the ages of eight and 12. 

CyberSafeKids has warned that EU regulation is failing to keep pace with where children spend their time, as Roblox, like other gaming platforms, it is not in the highest-risk regulatory tier.

CyberSafeKids has also warned of the danger of repeating the mistakes of the past when it comes to AI.

More than half (55%) of the children surveyed, and 76% of 12- to 15-year-olds, are using AI, the survey found, with younger children more likely to engage more for entertainment, experimentation, or to ask ‘random questions’.

Roughly one in 10 told the survey they find AI easier to chat with than people they know, with 16% of 8– to 12-year-olds and 20% of 12– to 15-year-olds chatting or getting advice from AI.

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"After a raft of new legislation in Ireland and at EU level in 2025, we had real expectations of change, but this report shows those expectations haven't been met," said Alex Cooney, CyberSafeKids chief executive. 

 "We flagged concerns last year about children's access to AI chatbots and the absence of regulation for this powerful new technology. A year on, little has changed on regulation, while children's access has grown exponentially, without safeguards or protections." 

After 10 years of reporting on children's online experiences, this year's data shows little positive impact from regulation, Ms Cooney added. 

"The intense debate over banning under-16s from social media is missing the point. We're arguing over whether to lock the door while the laws already meant to protect children inside go unenforced. We have to do better."

• Jess Casey, education correspondent