By Muvija M

LONDON, March 15 (Reuters) - Children in Britain stumble

on violent content online, including material promoting

self-harm, while still at primary school and say it is an

"inevitable part" of using the internet, according to research

published on Friday.

The report underlines the challenge facing world governments

and tech groups, such as Meta, which owns Facebook,

Instagram and WhatsApp, Google's YouTube, Snap Inc's ( SNAP )

Snapchat, and ByteDance's TikTok, to enact safeguarding

measures, especially for minors.

Britain passed legislation last October that set tougher

rules for social media platforms, including a mandate for them

to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate

content by enforcing age limits and age-checking measures.

The law gave Ofcom the power to fine tech companies if

they fail to comply with the new requirements, but the penalties

have not yet come into force as the regulator must produce codes

of practice to implement the measure.

Messaging platforms led by WhatsApp have opposed a

provision in the law they say could force them to break

end-to-end encryption.

All of the 247 children, aged between 8-17, interviewed for

the report - commissioned by Ofcom and carried out between May

and November - came across violent content online mostly via

social media, video-sharing and messaging sites and apps, Ofcom

said.

In a statement, Ofcom said the report by research agency

Family Kids & Youth found that violent gaming content, verbal

discrimination and footage of street fights were commonly

encountered by the children.

Many children said they felt they had no control over the

content suggested to them and reported only a limited

understanding of recommender systems - which use data to predict

someone's preferred content. The children referred to these

systems as "the algorithm," the report said.

"Today's research sends a powerful message to tech firms

that now is the time to act so they're ready to meet their child

protection duties under new online safety laws," Gill Whitehead,

Ofcom's Online Safety Group Director, said.

She said Ofcom would consult on how it can expect the

industry to ensure children have an age-appropriate, safer

online experience.