Ofcom Chief Defends Ambitious Online Safety Act for Protecting Under-18s
Dame Melanie Dawes highlights the responsibility of tech platforms in safeguarding children online.
The head of the UK’s online safety regulator, Ofcom, Dame Melanie Dawes, has expressed strong support for the upcoming Online Safety Act, asserting that the legislation will significantly change the online experiences of under-18s in a safer direction.
Speaking on LBC’s Breakfast programme during the station's Online Safety Day, Dawes described the rules as 'very ambitious,' intended to protect young users from a range of harmful online content.
According to Dawes, the Online Safety Act mandates that social media platforms must remove illegal content, such as terrorist material and abusive images of children, with immediate effect.
She emphasized that the Act aims to extend the protection framework to also include the restriction of various other harmful contents, such as pornography, suicide and self-harm material, as well as the down-ranking of violent, misogynistic, and racist content.
Dawes noted that the legislation addresses the need for a 'very different experience' for under-18s compared to what is currently available.
The Online Safety Act will require social media companies to comply with Ofcom’s codes of practice, which will cover various online safety issues, with substantial fines imposed for non-compliance.
While welcoming the new measures, some safety campaigners have raised concerns that the Act may be insufficient in its regulatory scope, suggesting that platforms could merely comply by adhering to Ofcom's established 'checklist' without enhancing their safety features effectively.
In response, Dawes recognized the crucial role that both technology platforms and parents play in ensuring online safety for children, advocating for increased parental involvement in monitoring the digital behavior of their children.
Dawes underscored that while platforms should provide safe environments, parents must also engage actively when their children sign up for social media accounts, typically at the age of 13. She highlighted the importance of parents in fostering safe online habits amongst youths and clarified that the onus is not solely on parents or parental control tools to create a safe environment online.
'Above all, I want the platforms to make the service safer,' she concluded.
Speaking on LBC’s Breakfast programme during the station's Online Safety Day, Dawes described the rules as 'very ambitious,' intended to protect young users from a range of harmful online content.
According to Dawes, the Online Safety Act mandates that social media platforms must remove illegal content, such as terrorist material and abusive images of children, with immediate effect.
She emphasized that the Act aims to extend the protection framework to also include the restriction of various other harmful contents, such as pornography, suicide and self-harm material, as well as the down-ranking of violent, misogynistic, and racist content.
Dawes noted that the legislation addresses the need for a 'very different experience' for under-18s compared to what is currently available.
The Online Safety Act will require social media companies to comply with Ofcom’s codes of practice, which will cover various online safety issues, with substantial fines imposed for non-compliance.
While welcoming the new measures, some safety campaigners have raised concerns that the Act may be insufficient in its regulatory scope, suggesting that platforms could merely comply by adhering to Ofcom's established 'checklist' without enhancing their safety features effectively.
In response, Dawes recognized the crucial role that both technology platforms and parents play in ensuring online safety for children, advocating for increased parental involvement in monitoring the digital behavior of their children.
Dawes underscored that while platforms should provide safe environments, parents must also engage actively when their children sign up for social media accounts, typically at the age of 13. She highlighted the importance of parents in fostering safe online habits amongst youths and clarified that the onus is not solely on parents or parental control tools to create a safe environment online.
'Above all, I want the platforms to make the service safer,' she concluded.
