Tech platforms could possibly be pressured to forestall unlawful content material from going viral and restrict the flexibility for folks to ship digital items to or report a toddler’s livestream, underneath extra on-line security measures proposed by Ofcom.
The UK regulator printed a session on Monday looking for views on additional protections to maintain residents, significantly kids, safer on-line.
These may additionally embody making some bigger platforms assess whether or not they should proactively detect terrorist materials underneath additional on-line security measures.
Oliver Griffiths, on-line security group director at Ofcom, mentioned its proposed measures search to construct on current UK on-line security guidelines however sustain with “always evolving” dangers.
“We’re holding platforms to account and launching swift enforcement motion the place we’ve considerations,” he mentioned.
“However expertise and harms are always evolving, and we’re at all times how we are able to make life safer on-line.”
The session highlighted three fundamental areas through which Ofcom thinks extra could possibly be finished:
- stopping unlawful content material going viral
- tackling harms at supply
- giving additional protections to kids
The BBC has approached TikTok, livestreaming platform Twitch and Meta – which owns Instagram, Fb and Threads – for remark.
Ofcom’s vary of proposals goal a lot of points – from intimate picture abuse to the hazard of individuals witnessing bodily hurt on livestreams – and differ in what kind or dimension of platform they might apply to.
For instance, proposals that suppliers have a mechanism to let customers report a livestream if its content material “depicts the danger of imminent bodily hurt” would apply to all user-to-user websites that enable a single consumer to livestream to many, the place there could also be a threat of displaying criminal activity.
In the meantime potential necessities for platforms to make use of proactive expertise to detect content material deemed dangerous to kids, would solely apply to the most important tech corporations which current larger dangers of related harms.
“Additional measures are at all times welcome however they won’t deal with both the systemic weaknesses within the On-line Security Act,” mentioned Ian Russell, chair of the Molly Rose Basis – an organisation arrange in reminiscence of his 14-year-old daughter Molly Russell, who took her personal life after viewing hundreds of photos selling suicide and self-harm.
He added that Ofcom confirmed a “lack of ambition” in its strategy to regulation.
“So long as the main target is on sticking plasters not complete options, regulation will fail to maintain up with present ranges of hurt and main new suicide and self-harm threats,” Mr Russell mentioned.
“It is time for the prime minister to intervene and introduce a strengthened On-line Security Act that may deal with preventable hurt head on by absolutely compelling corporations to establish and repair all of the dangers posed by their platforms.”
The session is open till 20 October 2025 and Ofcom hopes to get suggestions from service suppliers, civil society, legislation enforcement and members of the general public.
It comes as tech platforms look to convey their providers consistent with the UK’s sweeping on-line security guidelines that Ofcom has been tasked with imposing.
Some have already taken steps to try to clamp down on options that specialists have warned could expose kids to grooming, comparable to by means of livestreaming.
In 2022, TikTok banned kids raised its minimal age for going reside on the platform from 16 to 18 – shortly after a BBC investigation discovered hundreds of accounts going live from Syrian refugee camps with children begging for donations.
YouTube not too long ago said it might improve its threshold for customers to livestream to 16, from 22 July.
