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Ofcom needs to “show its teeth” and fine big tech companies that breach new child safety rules coming into force this week, the head of the NSPCC has said.
Chris Sherwood, the chief executive of Britain’s leading children’s charity, fired a shot across the bows of Ofcom, which was accused by MPs this month of being a “mediator” rather than a regulator.
On Friday new rules that force tech companies to protect children online come into force under the Online Safety Act. Under-18s should be shielded from seeing pornography, material that encourages suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, violent content, hate speech, bullying and dangerous stunts.
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Sherwood is concerned that Ofcom has so far failed to act against any big tech companies for their failure to remove illegal content under rules that have been in force since March.
“All of the platforms they’ve investigated so far have been really minuscule. So what we really want to see is going for those giant companies, those big companies, that actually make an impact and children and young people actually are on,” he told The Times.
Ofcom has the power to fine companies up to 10 per cent of global turnover, block services in the UK or even take criminal action against senior managers who flout the rules.
“I think it would be interesting to see if the regulator fines Meta 10 per cent of its global revenues. That would definitely send a bold message that Ofcom was showing its teeth,” Sherwood said.
Chris Sherwood said that social media companies had to introduce robust age checks
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The regulator has been under pressure this week from Sport England after members of the women’s football team were racially abused online. Illegal racist abuse should have been swiftly taken down by tech platforms under laws that became active in March.
Sherwood said it was also “decision time for social media platforms”. He added: “They either introduce robust age checks or they make sure harmful content simply doesn’t circulate on their platforms. Vague promises won’t be enough. They have to choose a path.”
One of the most closely watched platforms will be X, which hosts a large volume of pornography that must now be inaccessible by children.
The platform now has a choice either to remove it or “age-gate” the content, Sherwood said. “If they choose not to do so and that material is still there then Ofcom needs to lean into that and needs to take action.”
Ofcom was criticised by MPs recently in a report about the role of disinformation in the Southport riots. The Commons science, innovation and technology committee said: “Ofcom at times appeared complacent in its approach to public safety online, failing to live up to its role as the UK’s online safety regulator and slipping into the role of mediator between the industry and the consumer.”
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Sherwood said: “I’ve heard that in my own conversations with quite senior politicians. That, for me, is why the message we’re trying to get out today is so important, that Ofcom needs to show its teeth [otherwise] it’s much harder for them to … rebut that line.”
Sherwood said the NSPCC also has concerns about a loophole in the act that requires tech companies to remove prohibited content only where it is “technically feasible”. “That is a real concern for us, particularly given the amount of resources those tech companies have at their disposal,” he added.
He is also concerned that end-to-end encrypted services sit outside the legislation. “We really do want to see Keir Starmer and his government coming forward with robust proposals about how to close some of these gaps.”
An Ofcom spokesman said: “We’ve demonstrated we are prepared to use the full extent of our enforcement powers to drive compliance. In the immediate aftermath of the illegal harms rules coming into effect, we launched a number of investigations into a range of services. Any platform that fails to comply with their children’s safety duties can also expect to be on our target list for swift enforcement.”
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