Nearly three quarters of British internet users are concerned that children are accessing harmful content through their mobile phones, according to research commissioned by Mott MacDonald Schema.

Of the users that participated in the YouGov survey, 71 per cent believed mobile operators should be accountable for monitoring and addressing harmful content.

However, these concerns would appear to be based on perceived risk, with the UK already highly self-regulated when it comes to things like adult content and age-verification using credit cards.

In addition, all operators have tight shortcode controls and all have content filtering.

Still, if anything the research may indicate some clarity is required. Hence, when asked about ways to stop children from accessing harmful content on their mobiles, over half (58 per cent) of respondents agreed that barring sites and content according to the age of the phone owner would be effective.

Another preferred method would be to provide individual users with a pin code that reflects the user’s age and limits the type of content children can access. 

Alternatively, respondents agreed with implementing an SMS warning system that would send a message to a nominated ‘parent phone’ when a child accesses a harmful site.  Both these measures had 46 per cent approval of the participants.

Tom Allen, head of Mott MacDonald's information, communications and media business, said: “The internet was developed to share information, but we must be sensible about what younger generations can access. As the internet becomes more accessible due to new delivery platforms such as mobile phones and games consoles, it’s increasingly important we find ways to protect our children from inappropriate content.”