Ofcom has published a broader set of draft rules under the Online Safety Act 2023, aimed at making firms more accountable and give users more control over their online experiences. The draft rules will apply to larger ‘Category 1 services’, such as Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat, based on criteria set out by the UK government. In addition, Ofcom has published its register of categorised services. There are a range of new requirements.
The first of these is protecting news, journalism and content of democratic importance. The rules are aimed at helping safeguard news and journalism and will give media organisations more of a say when platforms seek to moderate or remove their content. Ofcom is also proposing new measures to ensure sites and apps take more care with content that is important in a democracy, like journalistic content and political debate.
The draft rules also aim to give adult users more control over their experience online. Ofcom is proposing that platforms give adults tools to keep harmful content such as suicide, self-harm and eating disorders as well as hateful and abusive content out of their feeds. The proposals also recommend that people must be given the choice to filter out content from, and prevent their own posts being seen by accounts that haven’t been verified. These measures aim to help prevent people from being subject to distressing and disturbing content online.
Ofcom also expects sites and apps to be more accountable by having clear and accessible rules for users, and stick to them. They also reaffirm that when there is something wrong, reporting or complaining should be easy and straightforward.
Categorised platforms will also face greater scrutiny by being required to publish a summary of their assessments of the risks of illegal content and harms to children on their services and to be more transparent.
The consultation on these measures ends on 2 October and Ofcom will publish its final decisions next year.
