We need Your Support: Help Shape the Future of Online Safety Act for Children in the UK

Gigabit IQ Team
Jun 29
3 min read

Participate in Our National Online Safety Survey

Why Your Voice Matters — and How Gigabit IQ Is Leading the Call for Change

In today’s digital world, children are spending more time online than ever — but are they truly safe? Despite new regulations, many families still feel left in the dark, with little support from tech companies or broadband providers.

At Gigabit IQ, we believe it’s time to change that. That’s why we’ve launched the National Online Safety Survey 2025 — and we need your voice to help shape real policy change in the UK.

🛡️ What Is the Online Safety Act?

The Online Safety Act, passed in 2024, is the UK Government’s flagship legislation to make the internet a safer place — especially for children and young people.

It aims to:

Hold tech platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram accountable for harmful content
Protect children from online grooming, pornography, hate speech, and cyberbullying
Require platforms to implement age verification, content moderation, and safety reporting tools

For the first time, Ofcom is acting as a regulator of online platforms — and that’s a major win for families.

✅ What’s Been Successful So Far?

The Act has made significant progress:

Age checks are being rolled out across adult content sites
Content filtering obligations are being introduced for major platforms
Transparency reporting now allows regulators to see how harmful content is being handled

These are important steps — but they only address part of the problem.

⚠️ What’s Still Missing to make it safer for Children Online Safety?

Despite these advances, there are still critical gaps:

1. ISPs (Internet Providers) Are Not Required to Help

Most broadband providers do not offer meaningful online safety tools. Parents are left alone to install complex apps or rely on basic device-level settings.

2. Bypassing Filters Is Too Easy

Children are increasingly using VPNs, incognito browsers, or Private Relay to get around controls — and most parents aren’t even aware it’s happening.

3. Parental Concerns Are Not Being Heard

Regulators and tech platforms often talk to experts — but not enough real families, teachers, or carers. Your experience isn’t being captured in national reports.

4. There’s No ISP Safety Rating

There’s no standard measure for how safe your broadband provider really is. Unlike safety ratings for cars (Euro NCAP) or appliances, ISP safety remains unregulated and invisible.

🌍 Why Gigabit IQ Is Leading This Movement

As an independent UK internet service provider, Gigabit IQ believes online safety shouldn’t be an afterthought — it should be built into the internet from the moment it enters your home.

We’re already:

Offering FamilyGuard+, our award-winning network-level parental controls
Blocking threats and harmful sites across every device in the home — without extra apps
Supporting VPN-bypass alerts, safe search, screen time limits, and age-appropriate profiles
Working with parents, schools, PTAs, and online safety organisations across the UK
Advocating for a national ISP Safety Rating system to hold all providers accountable

But we can’t do it alone.

📝 Why You Should Take the Survey

Your voice will directly contribute to:

A White Paper being submitted to UK Parliament
A stronger, more inclusive safety policy that reflects real-life parenting challenges
Public pressure for ISPs and tech companies to step up
A safer internet for every child in the UK

It’s anonymous, takes just 3 minutes, and could help change national policy.