Ofcom has made a good start in
its preparations for implementing a new online safety regime, and
must now manage risks around monitoring, scope and financing,
according to a new report by the National Audit Office
(NAO).
The NAO's report examines
whether preparations undertaken by the Department for Science,
Innovation & Technology (DSIT) - previously the Department
for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - and Ofcom for the
implementation of the new online safety legislation are
sufficiently advanced.
The government introduced the
Online Safety Bill in March 2022, reflecting its objective for
the UK to become the safest place in the world to be online. The
Bill is now expected to receive Royal Assent in October 2023. The
full regulatory regime will be put in place in phases over the
two years after Royal Assent.
According to Ofcom, 68% of
child (13-17) internet users and 62% of adult (18+) users
indicated they have experienced at least one potential online
harm in the last four weeks. Harmful content varies, from child
sexual abuse material and terrorist content to online fraud and
the encouragement of self-harm.
Ofcom estimates its cumulative
costs of preparing for and implementing the regime could total
£169 million by the end of 2024-25, of which £56 million will
have been incurred by the end of 2022-23. The regime is intended
to become self-financing through a fee structure. Ofcom estimates
that it could need to regulate more than 100,000 services, with
the majority interacting with the regulator for the first
time.
Ofcom still has lots to do to
develop the new regulatory regime. It will need to publish more
than 40 separate regulatory documents. It also needs to consider
how it will manage public and industry expectations about the
regime's impact to provide confidence from the outset. Ofcom must
also inform industry about its requirements; ensuring its data
requests are co-ordinated and proportionate, and establishing how
it will collect feedback, in particular from smaller
companies.
The regulator should identify
how it will reach the capability and capacity it needs, the NAO
recommends. It still needs to recruit more than 100 further
online safety staff and has yet to secure the funding it needs
for future years.
On monitoring and evaluation,
DSIT should work with Ofcom to identify how data collection will
support its own evaluation of the effectiveness of regulation
once the regime has begun.
And Ofcom will need to ensure
its processes for collecting data from service providers and its
generation of automated information are of sufficient quality to
inform its regulatory duties and enable it to adapt its approach
if data shows it is not achieving its aims.
, Head of
NAO,
said:
"Securing adequate protection
of citizens from online harms is a significant new role for
Ofcom, and its preparations to date have been good.
"Ofcom will need to manage
several risks in a way that delivers value for money. It will
need to move quickly to cover any gaps in its preparations should
the scope change between now and implementation.
"And it will need to cover its
costs by introducing fees so that the regime becomes
self-financing. As ever, access to good quality data will be
essential for Ofcom to monitor the compliance of services and to
evaluate its own effectiveness and for DSIT to know that the
regime is working."
