Tech firms must do more to stop sexual content under new Ofcom measures

Ofcom has announced new measures aimed at protecting UK users from cyberflashing and dangerous self-harm content.

These measures mandate that dating, messaging, and social media apps take more proactive steps to prevent, detect and moderate illegal content.

Key protections Against cyberflashing and self-harm

Under the Online Safety Act, both cyberflashing (sending unsolicited sexual images) and the encouragement or assistance of serious self-harm are designated as priority offences. Tech firms are now required to:

• Improve reporting: Make it easy for users to report illegal content.

• Enhance moderation: Maintain well-resourced, trained teams and systems to remove illegal content swiftly.

• Empower users: Provide robust tools for blocking, muting and disabling comments.

• Utilise technology: Use automated detection technology to reduce the spread of illegal intimate images.

• Manage algorithmic risks: Test algorithms to ensure they do not recommend illegal self-harm material and provide crisis prevention information for relevant search queries.

• Protect children: Implement safety defaults on messaging services to ensure children can only be contacted by those they are already connected to, particularly to mitigate grooming risks posed by criminal “Com groups.”

Industry perspective

The move has been welcomed by industry experts who emphasise the need for a combination of technology and human oversight.

Says Andy Lulham, Chief Operating Officer at online safety provider Verifymy:

“Cyberflashing has become so widespread that some now see it as an unavoidable consequence of being online or using dating or messaging apps. Ofcom’s measures recognise that victims need a straightforward route to report and block unsolicited nudes but that, crucially, technology must be used to detect this content and root it out.

“Platforms that use AI-driven content moderation can rapidly recognise a range of harmful material, including sexual imagery, and also help to identify the cyberflashers. Hybrid systems that underpin machine processing power with human judgement are the best way of wiping this crime off the internet.”

What happens next

Platforms are now required to review and update their risk assessments to align with these new requirements. Once these amendments are completed, they will formally come into effect, compelling tech firms to demonstrate how they are mitigating these specific risks on their services.