Children are regularly exposed to online advertisements for weight loss injections, diet products and cosmetic procedures, according to a new report by Dame Rachel de Souza, which calls for stricter regulation of social media platforms.
The report, based on a survey of 2,000 children aged 13 to 17 and focus groups, found that despite restrictions on certain types of advertising, young people are being “bombarded” with content promoting body transformation.
Respondents said they had seen adverts for weight-loss medications and diet products, as well as skin-lightening treatments, some of which are illegal to sell in the UK. Others described beauty and cosmetics content, including advertisements for lip fillers and aesthetic procedures, as “inevitable” on major social media platforms.
Dame Rachel said the content was “immensely damaging” to young people’s self-esteem and called on ministers to consider banning targeted social media advertising aimed at children.
“We cannot continue to accept an online world that preys on children’s insecurities and constantly tells them they need to change,” she said. “Urgent action is needed to create an online environment that is truly inherently safer.”
The findings come as part of the rollout of the Online Safety Act, which aims to make the internet safer for users, particularly children, by requiring platforms to quickly remove harmful material.
Dame Rachel’s report proposes changing the law to introduce a clearer “duty of care” requiring platforms to prevent children from being shown body image-related advertising in the first place. She also recommended changes to Ofcom’s children’s code of conduct to explicitly protect young users from content containing “body stigma”.
Ofcom said such materials already fall under the existing code. “Body stigma content can be incredibly harmful to children, which is why our rules require websites and apps to protect children from exposure to it and to act quickly if they find out about it,” a spokesperson said. The regulator added it would not tolerate tech firms “putting engagement ahead of children’s online safety”.
The commissioner also called for stricter enforcement of rules on online sales of age-restricted products and suggested the government restrict children’s access to certain social media platforms overall.
Dr. Peter Macaulay, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Derby, said restricting advertising to children was a necessary but not sufficient step on its own. “We also need greater platform accountability, better enforcement of age-appropriate design standards and better education to help children deal critically with online pressures,” he said.
A government spokesman said ministers had always been clear that the online safety law was “not the end of the discussion” and confirmed a national consultation had been launched on further measures, including the possibility of banning the use of social media for under-16s.
The debate highlights growing concern among policymakers about the commercial drivers behind youth-oriented content, as platforms face increasing pressure to demonstrate that their business models do not endanger children’s mental health.
