LOS ANGELES — The U.K. government has appointed telecoms and broadcasting regulator Ofcom to enforce rules intended to safeguard internet users.
The move was spurred by widespread public concern that online platforms aren’t doing enough to ensure that their services are safe for all users, particularly children, with a recent Ofcom report revealing that 61 percent of adults and 79 percent of 12-15-year-old internet users reported having had at least one potentially harmful experience online within the past 12 months.
The Online Harms White Paper explored proposals to tackle these issues and received over 2,400 responses during a public comment period from companies in the technology industry including large tech giants and small- and medium-sized enterprises, academics, think tanks, children’s charities, rights groups, publishers, governmental organizations and individuals. In parallel to the consultation process, the government undertook extensive consultations with representatives from industry, civil society and others — including top age verification service providers.
The news of Ofcom’s appointment came in a statement from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, and is the country’s initial response to the public consultation on the recently published Online Harms White Paper.
According to the government, the move is part of its plan to protect children and vulnerable people online and to give consumers greater confidence in the technology they use while providing the certainty that technology businesses need in order to flourish and innovate while creating a fair and proportionate regulatory environment.
“The regulator will play a key role in enforcing a statutory duty of care to protect users from harmful and illegal terrorist and child abuse content [and] is another step toward achieving the government’s pledge to make the U.K. the safest place in the world to be online,” the statement explained. “Ofcom will get new powers to carry out its extended responsibilities. This will include making sure online companies have the systems and processes in place to fulfill the duty of care to keep people using their platforms safe.”
Digital Secretary Nicky Morgan and Home Secretary Priti Patel stand behind the move.
“With Ofcom at the helm of a proportionate and strong regulatory regime, we have an incredible opportunity to lead the world in building a thriving digital economy, driven by groundbreaking technology, that is trusted by and protects everyone in the U.K.,” Morgan said. “We will give the regulator the powers it needs to lead the fight for an internet that remains vibrant and open but with the protections, accountability and transparency people deserve.”
It is a sentiment that is echoed by stakeholders such as Patel.
“While the internet can be used to connect people and drive innovation, we know it can also be a hiding place for criminals, including pedophiles, to cause immense harm [so] it is incumbent on tech firms to balance issues of privacy and technological advances with child protection,” Patel said. “That’s why it is right that we have a strong regulator to ensure social media firms fulfill their vital responsibility to vulnerable users.”
For the U.K.’s child protective organizations such as Barnardo’s, the move is welcome news.
“The backbone of an internet that is safe for children is regulation, which is why this announcement is so important,” Barnardo’s Chief Executive Javed Khan said. “[Minors] face growing risks online, including cyberbullying, sexual grooming and exposure to self-harm forums.”
Khan noted that two-thirds of the vulnerable minors supported through Barnardo’s sexual exploitation services were groomed online before meeting their abuser in person.
“We cannot expect children to protect themselves. Instead, we need a regulator to act without delay. To do so, it will need the necessary powers to carry out work effectively and to hold tech companies to account,” Khan added. “Barnardo’s looks forward to working with the government to ensure children are safe online.”
The new government initiative also requires companies to ensure that illegal content is removed quickly and to minimize the risk of such content ever appearing on their platforms.
Ofcom will be tasked with protecting users’ rights online, safeguarding free speech, defending the press, promoting tech innovation and ensuring that businesses do not face disproportionate burdens because of its mandates.
The regulations will not stop adults from accessing or posting legal content that some may find offensive — squelching fears that porn itself would be outlawed. Instead, companies will be required to explicitly state what content and behavior is acceptable on their sites, in clear and accessible terms and conditions, and to enforce these effectively, consistently and transparently. This will only apply to companies that allow the sharing of user-generated content — for example, through comments, forums or video sharing, such as on a tubesite, with fewer than 5 percent of U.K. businesses expected to fall within the scope of these mandates.
Ofcom will provide guidance to explain how B2B services that pose a low risk to the general public will likely not be covered, while a business that simply has a social media presence will also not necessarily be covered by the mandates. Although the government will set policy directions through legislation, Ofcom will decide on how the mandates should be enforced, allowing flexible regulation that can adapt to the rapid emergence of new harms and technologies. This spring, the government will publish a report detailing Ofcom’s enforcement powers after carefully considering the full impacts of this move on the regulatory landscape.
With today’s announcement, the Ofcom Board has appointed Dame Melanie Dawes as its new Chief Executive, with Lord Burns stepping down to enable a new Chair to be in place by the end of this year.