{"id":40387,"date":"2024-12-16T09:39:45","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T09:39:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=40387"},"modified":"2024-12-16T09:55:21","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T09:55:21","slug":"ofcom-publish-new-online-uk-internet-safety-codes-of-practice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/ofcom-publish-new-online-uk-internet-safety-codes-of-practice.html","title":{"rendered":"Ofcom Publish New Online UK Internet Safety Codes of Practice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ofcom<\/a> has today published the “first edition<\/em>” of its new online UK safety codes of practice for “tech firms<\/em>” (e.g. social media) and smaller websites under the government’s Online Safety Act (OSA). Providers now have 3 months to ensure they’re able to tackle “illegal harms<\/em>” (content), such as terror, hate, fraud, child sexual abuse and assisting or encouraging suicide.<\/p>\n

On the surface, it all sounds sensible and well-intentioned. After all, it\u2019s widely understood, and few could disagree, that the old model of self-regulation has struggled to keep pace with the changing online world, which has allowed far too much \u201charmful<\/em>\u201d content to slip through a fairly weak net.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> The Act and its codes are far-reaching and will touch many websites and online services (big and small alike). But it’s also true to say that Ofcom<\/a> lacks the resources to monitor everything, thus their focus is likely to be fixed on the worst offenders and major social media firms.<\/div>\n

The new Act essentially responds to this by placing new safety duties on social media firms, search engines, messaging, gaming and dating apps, and pornography and file-sharing sites of all sizes. Failing to comply with these rules could be extremely costly: “We have the power to fine companies up to \u00a318m or 10% of their qualifying worldwide revenue \u2013 whichever is greater<\/em>,” said Ofcom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In “very serious cases<\/em>” they can also apply for a court order to have broadband ISPs and mobile operators block a website or service in the UK.<\/p>\n

Types of harmful content<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Online Safety Act lists over 130 \u2018priority offences\u2019, and tech firms must assess and mitigate the risk of these occurring on their platforms. The priority offences can be split into the following categories:<\/p>\n

\u27a4 <\/b>Terrorism
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Harassment, stalking, threats and abuse offences
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Coercive and controlling behaviour
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Hate offences
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Intimate image abuse
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Extreme pornography
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Child sexual exploitation and abuse
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Sexual exploitation of adults
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Unlawful immigration
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Human trafficking
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Fraud and financial offences
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Proceeds of crime
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Assisting or encouraging suicide
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Drugs and psychoactive substances
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Weapons offences (knives, firearms, and other weapons)
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Foreign interference
\n\u27a4 <\/b>Animal welfare<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, trying to strike the right balance between Freedom of Expression<\/strong>, individual Privacy<\/strong> and outright Censorship <\/strong>is a difficult thing to get right, particularly when attempting to police the common and highly subjective public expression of negative human thought. Not to mention complex issues of context (e.g. people joking about blowing up a city vs actual terrorists), parody and political speech. Humans often get it wrong, and automated filtering systems are even worse. But only time will tell whether the pros of the new approach are enough to outweigh the potential cons (e.g. overblocking of legal content that is mischaracterised).<\/p>\n

Who the rules apply to<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

All in-scope services with a significant number of UK users, or targeting the UK market, are covered by the new rules, regardless of where they are based.<\/p>\n

The rules apply to services that are made available over the internet (or \u2018online services\u2019). This might be a website, app or another type of platform. If you or your business provides an online service, then the rules might apply to you.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the rules cover services where:<\/p>\n