Category Archives: Ofcom

Palestine Action ban coupled with Online Safety Act ‘a threat to public debate’

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Rights bodies say new law and proscription of direct action group create risk of censorship of Gaza-related content

The Online Safety Act together with the proscription of Palestine Action could result in platforms censoring Palestinian-related content, human rights organisations have warned.

Open Rights Group, Index on Censorship and others have written to Ofcom calling on it to provide clear guidance to platforms on distinguishing lawful expression from content deemed to be in support of terrorism.

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UK Online Safety Act risks ‘seriously infringing’ free speech, says X

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Elon Musk’s social media platform says lawmakers made a ‘conscientious decision’ to increase censorship

Elon Musk’s X platform has said the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) is at risk of “seriously infringing” free speech as a row deepens over measures for protecting children from harmful content.

The social media company said the act’s “laudable” intentions were being overshadowed by its aggressive implementation by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.

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UK should act to stop children getting hooked on social media ‘dopamine loops’

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Beeban Kidron says it is not ‘nanny state’ to prevent firms investing billions on making platforms addictive from targeting under-18s

A leading online safety campaigner has urged the UK government to “detoxify the dopamine loops” of addictive social media platforms as tech companies prepare to implement significant child protection measures.

Beeban Kidron, a crossbench peer, asked the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to use the Online Safety Act to bring forward new codes of conduct on disinformation and on tech features that can lead to children becoming addicted to online content.

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Royal Mail gets go ahead to axe second-class post on Saturdays

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Deliveries will also alternate on weekdays to reflect changing behaviour of users but critics say regulator has let courier off the hook

Royal Mail has been given the green light to drop Saturday deliveries of second-class letters and provide services only on alternating weekdays from Monday to Friday under new rules announced by the regulator.

Ofcom said that reforms of the universal services obligation (USO) reflected changing behaviour of postal users, with fewer letters being sent across the country. The regulator said it could end up saving the postal delivery service between £250m and £425m each year.

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UK study shows 8% of children aged eight to 14 have viewed online pornography

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Ofcom says research shows need for stricter age checks being introduced in July, which most major sites have signed up to

Nearly one in 10 children aged eight to 14 have watched online pornography, according to the UK’s communications watchdog, as most adult content providers gear up to adopt stronger age checks ahead of a 25 July deadline.

Ofcom published research showing that 8% of children aged eight to 14 in the UK had visited an online pornography site or app over a month-long period. Boys aged 13 to 14 were the most likely viewers, with two out of 10 visiting adult sites.

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UK media regulator investigates possible online safety breaches at 4chan

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Ofcom looks into whether 4chan and file-sharing services failed to put measures to protect users from illegal content

Britain’s media regulator, Ofcom, on Tuesday launched nine investigations into the internet message board 4chan as well as several file-sharing services over possible breaches of online safety laws.

Britain’s Online Safety Act, passed in 2023, sets tougher standards for platforms to tackle criminal activity, with an emphasis on child protection and illegal content.

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What are the Ofcom measures to protect children online – and will they work?

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Communications regulator has brought in more than 40 new rules for tech firms designed to keep under-18s safe

Ofcom announces new rules for tech firms to keep children safe online

The UK communications watchdog has set out more than 40 measures to keep children safe online under a landmark piece of legislation.

The Online Safety Act has a strong focus on protecting under-18s from harmful content and the codes of practice published by Ofcom on Thursday are a significant moment for regulation of the internet.

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TV bosses should dare to flout Ofcom rules, says Grange Hill creator Phil Redmond

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Producer says ‘courage has gone out of broadcasting’ and audiences want to see grittier issues

The creator of some of Britain’s best-loved soaps has said the “courage has gone out of broadcasting” and suggested that television bosses should not be afraid to flout Ofcom rules.

Phil Redmond – the brains behind Hollyoaks, Grange Hill and Brookside – said there was “too much risk aversion” in television, with producers afraid to upset regulators even if it meant pleasing audiences.

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Reddit overtakes X in popularity of social media platforms in UK

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Discussion platform takes fifth place in rankings and is the fastest growing large social media platform in the UK

Reddit, the American online discussion platform, has overtaken X to become the fifth most popular social media platform in the UK, according to the communications watchdog.

Ofcom said Reddit, where users post on discussion threads within topic-based communities, was visited by 22.9 million UK adults in May this year, compared with 22.1 million on X.

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Ofcom fines GB News £100,000 for breach of impartiality rules over Sunak interview

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GB News to challenge decision and watchdog will not enforce sanction until proceedings are concluded

Ofcom has fined the rightwing broadcaster GB News £100,000 for “breaking due impartiality rules” after an interview with the former prime minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year.

The media regulator said it chose to impose a fine over the programme titled People’s Forum: The Prime Minister because it considered the breach serious, and because of GB News’s track record of breaking impartiality rules.

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Social media algorithms need overhaul in wake of Southport riots, Ofcom says

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Watchdog issues warning over misinformation after trouble that flared following killing of three girls on Merseyside

Social media algorithms must be adjusted to prevent misinformation from spreading, the chief executive of Ofcom has warned, responding to the rioting that broke out after the killing of three girls in Southport this summer.

Misinformation about the Southport killings proliferated despite tech firms and social media platforms’ “uneven” attempts to stop it, wrote the Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes, in a letter to the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, Peter Kyle.

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Internet replaces TV as UK’s most popular news source for first time

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Media regulator describes change as a ‘generational shift in the balance of news media’

Online platforms have overtaken TV channels as the most popular sources for news in the UK, according to figures described as a “generational shift” in viewing habits.

More than seven out of 10 UK adults (71%) consume online news, said the UK’s communications regulator, slightly ahead of TV, which is used by 70% of adults. Ofcom described the survey result, the first time websites and apps have moved in front of TV, as marking a “generational shift in the balance of news media”.

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Ofcom receives 8,000 complaints over Ed Balls interviews on Good Morning Britain

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Complaints followed Balls’ interview with his wife, Yvette Cooper, and Labour MP Zarah Sultana on Monday

The media regulator Ofcom has received more than 8,000 complaints after an episode of Good Morning Britain in which the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, was interviewed by her husband, Ed Balls.

Balls, a former Labour cabinet minister and a regular presenter on the ITV breakfast programme, questioned his wife’s response to far-right riots during Monday’s edition of the programme.

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UK political parties on track to spend £1m on election day online ads

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Digital campaigning gets round media blackout rule restricting broadcasters’ coverage while polls are open

The UK’s political parties are on track to spend more than a million pounds on online adverts on Thursday, circumventing a media blackout rule that forces television and radio stations to stop their election coverage when polls open.

British parties have traditionally ceased top-level campaign activity when voting began as they had no way to get out their message out. This is because of a longstanding broadcasting rule, enforced by the media regulator Ofcom, that states: “Discussion and analysis of election and referendum issues must finish when the poll opens.”

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Starmer says he would not let SNP hold new independence referendum or lift veto on gender recognition bill – as it happened

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Labour leader says he would refuse to participate in negotiations for another independence referendum if he is elected PM

Speaking of Nigel Farage: the Reform UK leader has praised the misogynist influencer Andrew Tate for being an “important voice” for the emasculated and giving boys “perhaps a bit of confidence at school” in online interviews that appear to be aimed at young men over the past year.

The Guardian’s Rowena Mason and Ben Quinn report:

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Royal Mail owner warns Czech billionaire’s offer could create risk around finances

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IDS says a change in ownership may lead to ‘material uncertainty’ over the company’s future

Royal Mail’s owner has warned that a potential £3.5bn bid by the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský could create risk around the company’s finances.

The warning came as the industry regulator Ofcom announced that it had opened an investigation into the parent group, International Distributions Services (IDS), for failing to meet its annual delivery targets for the second year in a row. Last year, Ofcom fined the company £5.6m for failing to meet its first-class and second-class delivery targets in 2022-23.

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Ofcom accused of ‘excluding’ bereaved parents from online safety consultation

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The UK regulator has been criticised by grieving families and internet abuse survivors for failing to engage with them

Bereaved parents and abuse survivors who have endured years of “preventable, life-changing harm” linked to social media say they have been denied a voice in official discussions about holding tech firms to account.

Mariano Janin, whose ­daughter Mia, 14, killed herself after online bullying, and the parents of Oliver Stephens, 13, who was murdered after a dispute on social media, are among those who have accused Ofcom of excluding them from a ­consultation process for tackling online harms.

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Nigel Farage can host GB News show during election, says Ofcom

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Media regulator says no clear consensus among British public to ban politicians presenting on news channels

Nigel Farage will be allowed to present his nightly GB News programme throughout the general election campaign, Ofcom has confirmed, after the media regulator said there was no clear consensus among the British public to stop politicians presenting shows on news channels.

The founder of the Reform UK party, which has the backing of 10% of voters in opinion polls, will be allowed to keep broadcasting until polling day providing he does not stand as a parliamentary candidate.

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TV has become exploitative and cruel, says Ofcom chair Michael Grade

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The boss of the broadcast regulator has expressed concern about how the chase for audience ratings is harming the industry

Television has become more “exploitative and cruel”, according to Michael Grade, the chair of the broadcasting regulator, Ofcom.

“The exploitation dial has been switched up more and more for ratings,” said the peer and former chair of the BBC board. “It makes me mad. I really don’t like it or enjoy it.

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Royal Mail names senior Heathrow executive as next boss

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Emma Gilthorpe is tasked with turning company around and takes up newly created CEO role in May

Royal Mail has appointed a senior executive from Heathrow to become its next boss, charged with delivering a turnaround to the ailing postal company.

Emma Gilthorpe, who has been the chief operating officer at the airport since 2020, will join Royal Mail in May.

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