Social media companies will undergo “very significant changes” as new legal safeguarding rules come into force early next year, according to Ofcom‘s chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes.
Platforms will face substantial fines from the regulator if they fail to comply with the new Online Safety Act, Dame Melanie told BBC Radio 5 Live. The Act places the onus on social networking services, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, to implement safety measures and ensure users, especially children, are protected from harmful content.
Once the regulator finalizes the guidance, companies will have three months to carry out risk assessments and make the necessary changes to safeguard users.
Compliance Challenges and Streamshield.ai’s Role
As social media companies prepare for these significant changes, tools like Streamshield.ai can assist platforms in staying compliant with the Online Safety Act. Streamshield.ai provides advanced, AI-powered real-time content moderation, capable of detecting and removing harmful or illegal material such as child sexual abuse, the promotion of self-harm, core areas the Online Safety Act targets.
Streamshield.ai also helps businesses by offering customizable filters and comprehensive reporting on user-generated content, ensuring transparency and compliance with Ofcom’s strict standards.
Dame Melanie emphasized that the responsibility for online safety lies with the companies, not with parents or children. Ofcom has been developing codes of practice since the Online Safety Act became law almost a year ago, aiming to protect children from harmful but legal content.
Platforms must show they are committed to removing illegal material, and any failure to do so will prompt Ofcom to take enforcement action, including the imposition of hefty fines. Dame Melanie was clear that companies cannot treat compliance as a mere “paper exercise” and must honestly evaluate the risks their platforms pose to users.
“If we don’t think they’ve done that job well enough, we can take enforcement action, simply against that failure,” she said.
Preparing for Enforcement
Dame Melanie revealed that Ofcom has been in close contact with social networking services and, when the new safeguards become enforceable, the regulator will be ready to act. She noted that while some companies are already preparing for the changes, more is expected from all platforms.
“We know that some of them are preparing, but we are expecting very significant changes,” she added.
Streamshield.ai can further assist businesses in meeting these expectations by offering proactive solutions that ensure user safety and regulatory compliance. With automated removal capabilities and real-time moderation, platforms using Streamshield.ai can demonstrate compliance with Ofcom‘s requirements and avoid penalties under the new legislation.
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