Childline data links social media to child abuse counselling
Childline data reveals that social media apps were mentioned thousands of times in counselling sessions related to child abuse, highlighting concerns about online safety and the need for stronger protections.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Childline data reveals social media's role in child abuse counselling
New data from Childline shows that social media apps were mentioned thousands of times in counselling sessions related to child abuse last year. TikTok was mentioned almost 2,000 times, Snapchat over 1,000 times, and Instagram on almost 600 occasions. The NSPCC, which runs Childline, says robust age checks on sites need to be brought in to prevent harm.
The findings come as a mother shared her daughter's experience of being groomed online. The girl was 12 when she was contacted by a sex offender on TikTok, and the abuse later moved to Discord. The mother described social media platforms as "a playground for paedophiles". The man responsible is now behind bars.
The NSPCC is calling for stronger regulation, while some politicians have backed a plan to ban children from social media. However, others warn that an outright ban could drive children to even darker spaces. The platforms have responded: TikTok says it has more than 50 privacy and safety features, Snapchat says it is committed to strong age checks, Discord says it takes a proactive approach, and Instagram declined to comment.
The debate continues over how best to protect children online, with the data highlighting the scale of the problem.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | ITV |
|---|---|
| Andy Burnham backed a plan to ban under-16s from social media. | |
| Childline recorded TikTok being mentioned almost 2,000 times in counselling sessions last year. | |
| Discord said it takes a proactive approach to combating bad actors. | |
| Snapchat was mentioned over 1,000 times and Instagram almost 600 times in the same Childline counselling data. | |
| The Prime Minister backed his predecessor's plan to ban all children from social media. | |
| TikTok said its teen accounts have more than 50 privacy and safety features. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The lunchtime broadcast focuses on the exclusive data and the mother's story, highlighting the NSPCC's call for age checks and the Prime Minister's backing of a ban. It is concise and direct, with less context than the evening edition.
- “I just feel like all these different social media platforms, they're a playground for paedophiles.”
- “Obviously we need parents and children to be aware of the kinds of risks that occur but really what we need is to step up the level of regulation so that these risks don't occur in the first place.”
The evening broadcast provides a more in-depth report, including reactions from children at a summer club, a warning that a ban could drive children to darker spaces, and a mention of Andy Burnham backing a ban on under-16s. It also includes more platform responses, such as Discord's statement.
- “I just feel like all these different social media platforms, they're a playground for paedophiles.”
- “A ban, pure and simple, takes something from children and it doesn't really provide them with anything better.”
- “It's happening all the time and we need to stand up and say enough is enough.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.