One in five Britons ‘harmed by internet’
Ofcom chief calls for end to ‘lottery’ that lets social media firms avoid regulation
TWELVE million people in Britain have been harmed by social media and the internet because online firms escape regulation, the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom will warn today.
Sharon White, the regulator’s chief executive, will reveal research showing that one in five people in the UK has experienced harmful content or conduct ranging from bullying and harassment to fraud and violence.
The Daily Telegraph has campaigned for a statutory duty of care that would require internet firms to protect their users from such online perils.
Ms White will outline a potential blueprint for the statutory regulation of social media and warn that people face a “standards lottery” due to the disparity in rules for traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV, and unregulated platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
Ms White will say it is time for an independent regulator to oversee the tech giants in a way that safeguards free speech and innovation but protects the public from online harms. She will suggest a model similar to the telecoms sector where the firms’ complaints processes would be regulated.
Targets could be set for how quickly and effectively they remove offensive posts or crack down on harmful conduct. Firms would face hefty fines for breaches.
Ms White will say: “As a regulator, we are required to keep audiences safe and protected – irrespective of the screen they watch, or the device they hold. Without even knowing it, viewers are watching the same content, governed by different regulation in different places, or by none at all.
“This is a standards lottery. If protection matters, and we all believe it does, this cannot be our message to viewers – ‘choose your screen, and take your chances’.”
While welcoming Facebook and Youtube’s hiring of 30,000 extra content moderators this year, she will warn it is not enough. “Trust in them is already weakening,” she will add. “Our research shows that people see social platforms as the single biggest source of online harm – and most people want the rules to be tighter.”
Her intervention, backing laws to regulate the online platforms, comes at a critical point as the Government prepares to unveil proposals to tackle social media and gaming giants. Broadcasters including the BBC are also demanding regulation of online and video streaming competitors.
Ms White will say that four in five people are concerned about going online because of fears over “illegal, dangerous, misleading or inappropriate” content, hacking or privacy.
She will warn the “dazzling” but unregulated growth of the internet has come at a price, with social media firms singled out for the scale of online harm.
Of the 12 million who had experienced harmful content or conduct, 44 per cent encountered it on social
media networks, according to the indepth research that involved face-toface interviews with 1,700 people, all internet users aged 16 and over.
The research, for Ofcom and the Information Commissioner, shows that as well as four fifths of the public expressing concerned about “illegal, dangerous, misleading or inappropriate” content, two thirds are worried by content particularly when aimed at children, ranging from bullying, harassment, trolling, hate speech and violent or sexual material, as well as fraud, fake news and spam mail.
Illustrating the haphazard nature of the regulatory regime, Ms White gave the example of a child watching Absolutely Fabulous on television, which is bound by detailed rules relating to depiction of crime, sex, drugs, violence and self-harm. By contrast, Absolutely Fabulous on catch-up or Netflix is subject to European rules on violence but nothing on swearing. An Absolutely Fabulous clip on Facebook or Youtube, would have “no regulation at all beyond the general law to protect her from harmful content”.
She will outline four regulatory principles drawn from Ofcom’s experience of broadcasting regulation. They include a “clearly articulated set of rules” rooted in Parliament’s aims and able to evolve with public opinion, a balance of “strong audience protections” and freedom of expression, penalties for ineffective or slow action against harms and an independent regulator “free from commercial or political influence”.
“As in Germany this could mean requiring tech giants to be much more transparent about how they tackle online harm. The sun could shine brighter – even on Silicon Valley,” she will say.