Fake Moustaches Help UK Kids Bypass Online Age Checks

British children are using tactics ranging from false birthdates to fake moustaches to get around online age verification systems introduced under the Online Safety Act, according to a new survey that raises questions about how effective the measures are in practice.

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The law requires platforms that host adult material or user-generated content to implement stronger age-verification systems to protect minors. Yet new findings suggest many young users still find it relatively simple to evade these digital barriers.

Survey Finds Age Checks Easy to Circumvent

A report by Internet Matters, based on a survey of 1,000 children and parents across the UK, found that 46% of underage users believe bypassing online age checks is easy.

The Online Safety Act was introduced to reduce children’s exposure to harmful content, including explicit material and violent imagery. The legislation has pushed technology companies to introduce new safety features such as parental controls, stronger content filtering and biometric verification tools.

However, the survey indicates that these safeguards may not be working as intended.

While many children simply enter an incorrect birth year when registering for services, others reported more inventive ways of fooling systems designed to estimate age. Some said they used make-up or attached fake moustaches to trick facial-analysis technology into identifying them as older users.

Harmful Content Still Reaching Children

Despite the new regulatory framework, the survey also found that nearly half of children — 49% — still encounter harmful content online.

The findings suggest that although platforms have introduced more visible safety measures, the underlying verification technology can still be manipulated with relatively simple methods.

Parents surveyed also raised broader concerns about the online environment facing children. Among the issues highlighted were the growth of AI-generated material, including deepfakes and synthetic media that younger users may struggle to recognise as false.

Many parents also expressed concern about algorithms that encourage prolonged screen time, as well as the absence of core safety features embedded in many social media platforms.

Call for “Safety by Design”

Internet Matters said age verification alone should not be viewed as a complete solution to protecting minors online.

Instead, the organisation called for a “safety-by-design” approach in which protections are integrated into digital products from the earliest stages of development, rather than added later in response to legislation.

The report also recommends a more targeted approach to risk management. Platforms, it said, should evaluate specific features and types of content according to how they may affect different age groups, rather than relying on a single system applied to all users.

Education and Enforcement Needed

The persistence of simple workarounds — from fake birthdates to theatrical disguises — highlights the challenge regulators face in ensuring age verification systems are reliable.

According to the report, improving technology alone will not solve the issue. Internet Matters is urging closer cooperation between schools, government authorities and technology companies to improve media literacy among children and parents.

Teaching young users how to identify risks online and report inappropriate material, the group said, should form part of a broader strategy to make digital spaces safer.

The findings underline that the Online Safety Act may represent an important first step in regulating online platforms. However, the survey suggests that without stronger enforcement and more sophisticated verification systems, many of the law’s intended protections may remain difficult to achieve.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now. Compiled from various sources. 16 May 2026