If we rely on parent’s to supervise children 100% of the time they are online, that will severely restrict a child’s right to the opportunities to learn and explore online.
In the real world, we do not expect a parent to accompany a child every time they enter a newsagent to buy sweets to make sure they don’t buy an adult magazine at the same time – we make the shopkeeper responsible too.
Parents are often unaware of parental controls, or lack the ability to set them up. Many children also figure out how to circumvent them. They certainly are a valuable measure alongside education and age verification – but they are not on their own a sufficient solution.
While around six in ten parents of 5-15s, who had fixed broadband at home and a child who went online, were aware of certain technical tools and controls, around half of these actually used the tools and controls available.
Source: Ofcom