Regardless of the UK’s obvious exhausting stance to defend the OSA, Trump has recommended that there is a “excellent probability” the US will make a take care of the UK to protect an allyship that each nations will count on to be essential to sustaining tech dominance.
Ofcom guarantees “swift motion”
Ofcom stated that every one platforms have till March 31 to ship accomplished danger assessments and ought to be ready as we speak “to start out implementing acceptable measures to take away unlawful materials shortly once they develop into conscious of it, and to scale back the danger of ‘precedence’ felony content material from showing within the first place.” These studies will probably be posted on Ofcom’s website to make sure transparency and accountability.
Platforms have been requested to make eradicating youngster sexual abuse supplies (CSAM) the highest precedence after the Web Watch Basis flagged probably the most CSAM in its historical past final 12 months—uncovering over 290,000 webpages containing CSAM in 2024.
Shifting ahead, Ofcom will probably be monitoring compliance, “launching focused enforcement motion the place we uncover considerations,” their announcement stated. Suzanne Cater, Ofcom’s enforcement director, beforehand promised “swift motion,” and Ofcom seems ready to ship on that promise.
“We won’t hesitate to open investigations into particular person providers,” Ofcom stated, forecasting, “we count on to make extra bulletins on formal enforcement motion over the approaching weeks.”
Ofcom chief government Melanie Dawes instructed FT that “there will probably be some [websites] who we have to take robust motion in opposition to and we’re gearing up for that now in order that we may be actually quick.”
However relating to X’s anticipated compliance, Dawes simply stated that Ofcom would “guarantee that X follows the foundations which were set down within the act” and takes motion in 2025 to take away extra content material that Musk’s platform might at present not take down, preferring to merely scale back attain of posts thought-about “terrible however lawful.” UK security advocates have recommended that X might have to construct out its youngster security staff to take away extra content material, The Telegraph reported.
Ofcom didn’t reply to Ars’ request to touch upon whether or not Ofcom at present has considerations about X or every other massive platforms’ compliance, solely re-sharing info from the press launch relating to high priorities as enforcement begins.
“We’re initially prioritizing the compliance of websites and apps which will current explicit dangers of hurt from unlawful content material resulting from their measurement or nature—for instance as a result of they’ve numerous customers within the UK, or as a result of their customers might danger encountering a few of the most dangerous types of on-line content material and conduct,” Ofcom’s spokesperson stated.
