Ian Cheshire, the incoming chair of Ofcom, has pledged to confront major technology companies, acknowledging a perception that the regulator has been complacent and slow in addressing online safety concerns. Speaking to the science, innovation and technology select committee, Cheshire said he wanted to probe the issue and understand why the regulator had been seen as ineffective.
Cheshire, formerly chair of Channel 4, said he was personally nervous about the impact of social media on under-16s, but stressed that any ban on under-16s accessing social media was a matter for the government, not Ofcom. He also indicated that he would have “serious conversations” about whether sitting politicians such as Nigel Farage should be allowed to present current affairs programmes on GB News, amid impartiality concerns.
Safety campaigners welcomed Cheshire’s comments. Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, said it was “refreshing” to hear that Cheshire would take on big tech and address the perception of complacency. He added that a reset was needed, with proactive and robust enforcement of the Online Safety Act.
Separately, Ofcom signalled a step-up in regulation of tech firms on Thursday, vowing to “force through” more online safety changes. The watchdog accused TikTok and YouTube of not doing enough to protect children, warning that personalised feeds were serving harmful content to under-18s. Ofcom said it would consider ordering an independent audit of the systems used by YouTube, TikTok and Meta to protect children.
TikTok said it was “very disappointing” that Ofcom had not noted its safety features, while Meta said it had been investing in safety measures for teenagers for over a decade. Ofcom added that Snapchat, Meta and Roblox had agreed to adopt further safety measures to protect children from online grooming.
