Ofcom/Addressing harmful content online

Addressing harmful content online is a report by Ofcom to inform the Internet regulation debate initiated by the government's online safety strategy and Digital Charter.

Key findings

Existing frameworks could not be transferred wholesale to the online world. We discuss specific challenges presented online, and how they might affect regulation - including:

• Scale: the sheer volume of text, audio and video generated or shared by online platforms is far beyond that available on broadcast television and radio.
• Variety of content types, voices and opinions: the diversity of types of content available online is much broader than that of traditional broadcast content and includes user generated content and conversations between people.
• Role in content creation: many online platforms do not create or commission the content that is accessed by their users, although they do have a role in determining what users see.
• Service variety and innovation: the nature and features of online platform services vary widely, including the level of control over what content users see.
• Multinational nature of online platform operators: many platform operators are not based in the UK, which may have implications for enforcement.

Audience expectations and context differ between broadcasting and online. In some areas, people’s expectation of protection online maps closely to the standards that apply to broadcasting – the protection of minors, protection from illegal content and from a range of other harmful content and conduct. There are certain broadcasting standards – such as those for impartiality and accuracy – that might be undesirable or impractical to introduce online in the same way. Alternative approaches might focus on transparency, e.g. platforms making clear to users where news content comes from and whether it can be trusted.

However, certain principles from broadcasting regulation could be relevant as policymakers consider issues around online protection:

• Protection and assurance against harmful content and conduct.
• Upholding freedom of expression.
• Adaptability over time to allow for changing consumer behaviour and expectations, and innovation by industry to adjust how it can best protect its users.
• Transparency, both in terms of which services are regulated and of the rules underpinning the regulatory regime.
• Enforcement against bad behaviour, through proportionate and meaningful sanctions.
• Independence of decision-making that builds credibility and public trust.