Tech firms must ‘tame aggressive algorithms’ under safety rules

SOCIAL media platforms must take action to stop their algorithms recommending harmful content to children, and put robust age-checking measures in place to protect them, Ofcom has said.

The regulator has published its draft children’s safety codes of practice, which set out how it expects online services to meet their new legal responsibilities to protect children online under the Online Safety Act.

The online safety laws require sites which can be accessed by children to take action to protect those younger users by assessing the risk their platform poses to children and then putting in place measures to mitigate those risks – with large fines among the possible penalties for those found to be in breach.

Ofcom, as the new regulator for the sector, has published a range of draft codes of practice in recent months, setting out how platforms should handle different types of content, ahead of the new rules beginning to come into full force, which is expected towards the end of this year.

The latest codes include more than 40 practical measures which Ofcom says will demand a step-change from tech firms by compelling safer design and operating practices from the biggest sites.

In particular, the codes will expect services to carry out robust age verification processes to stop children accessing harmful material, as well as ensuring that their recommendation algorithms – such as “For You” pages – do not serve dangerous or potentially harmful content to children.

Under the proposals, platforms which can be accessed by children and have a higher risk of harmful content appearing must configure their algorithms to filter out the most harmful content from children’s feeds, and reduce the visibility and prominence of other lower-risk, but still potentially harmful, material.

The draft codes also require firms to have content moderation systems and processes in place, and ensure that swift action is taken against harmful content, with search engines expected to have a “safe search” option for use by children.

Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: “We want children to enjoy life online. But, for too long, their experiences have been blighted by seriously harmful content. Many parents share feelings of frustration and worry about how to keep their children safe. That must change.

“In line with new online safety laws, our proposed codes firmly place the responsibility for keeping children safer on tech firms. They will need to tame aggressive algorithms that push harmful content to children and introduce age-checks so children get an experience right for their age.

“Our measures, which go way beyond current industry standards, will deliver a step-change in online safety for children in the UK.”