Ofcom vows to name and shame platforms over online sexism

The media regulator has published guidelines aimed at making the internet safer for women and girls and threatened to make it “absolutely clear to the public” which platforms do not follow them.

Ofcom says it hopes the measures will make it easier to report and take action on online abuse, recognizing that these processes are currently “soul-destroying”.

However, these are guidelines rather than legal requirements, and the regulator hopes the threat of exposing platforms for failing to comply will force them to act.

Critics say so, and the government needs to go further if it wants to make the online world safer.

“Until we have a legally enforceable code of practice, we don't think we'll really see a shift in technology platforms taking this issue seriously enough,” said Andrea Simon, executive director of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women.

Influencer and women's sport advocate Demi Brown told the BBC she had to “become resilient” in response to negative comments about her weight and appearance online.

She said it was wrong that she had to use the block button to remove abuse and prevent trolling on her social media accounts.

“I don't think we should worry about the online space, it should be a place where we can truly be ourselves,” she told the BBC.

Ofcom's new recommendations announced Tuesday include a request for firms to:

• put all account privacy settings in one place
• demonetize content containing sexual violence
• allow complaints about offensive comments to be filed collectively, rather than one at a time, as is currently the case

“It's about making reporting much easier so you can report multiple accounts that are offending you at the same time, rather than having to do it one after the other, which is absolutely soul-destroying,” Ofcom chief Dame Melanie Dawes said.

“It's a lot of small steps that together will help keep people safe and allow them to enjoy their lives online,” she added.

She insisted that the threat of layoffs would be a serious threat to tech companies.

“I think the transparency we're going to provide is going to be a very strong incentive,” she said.

UK Technology Minister Liz Kendall said tech firms “have the ability and technical tools to block and remove misogyny online.”

The guide complements the previous ones codes, rules and guidelines issued by the watchdog to enforce the Internet Safety Act, which became law in 2023.

Sahra-Aisha Muhammad-Jones founded a running club for Muslim women in east London and said negative private messages and comments could discourage young women from accessing the internet altogether.

Even though she has developed a positive community around her, she said she still doesn't feel safe online.

“There's a side to social media that is really harmful and really scary and you need to be on guard at all times,” she told BBC News.

Former secretary of state Baroness Nicky Morgan told BBC Radio 4's Today program that introducing such measures had been a “long struggle”.

But she said it was “disappointing” to see them appear in the form of guidelines rather than rules for tech companies.

“I think there are some ground rules here, but of course it depends on the attitude of the technology platforms to adopt the proposed practice recommendations,” she said.

While some platforms may do this, she said, “some simply don't care and will continue to publish the deeply harmful content that we see online today.”

The concerns come amid wider criticism of the regulator for lacking teeth.

Ofcom has so far issued only two fines for breaking the law.

One of the platforms fined, 4Chan, refused to pay a fine of £20,000 and filed a lawsuit in the United States.

Ofcom is trying to find a balance between online safety and freedom of speech. He also deals with the US tech giants who own the UK's most popular social networks.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said earlier this year that the White House is tired of other countries trying to regulate American technology businesses.

Ms Kendall recently wrote to Ofcom, saying she is in danger of “losing public confidence” if the pace of change does not increase, and campaigners such as the Molly Rose Foundation say the laws do not go far enough to protect people from online harm.

Chris Boardman, a former professional cyclist and chairman of Sport England, complained to Ofcom over the online treatment of women in sport.

During last year's European Championships, Lionesses footballer Jess Carter was banned from social media. due to racial abuse online.

Tennis star Katie Boulter, who received death threats after the French Open, also said offensive comments have become the 'norm'.

In his letter, Mr Boardman said sexist abuse of athletes online was counteracting efforts to encourage more women to take up the sport.

“Action can be taken,” he told the BBC, “You have AI. [and] algorithms that ruthlessly target marketing to increase engagement and profits.”

“We now need to use the same tools to curb abuses in the first place, rather than deal with them after the fact,” he said.