‘A positive step that will reassure parents and keep children safer’ - BCS responds to the appointment of Ofcom as online harms regulator

12 Feb 2020 11:55 AM

BCS surveyed (Jan 2018) 6,500 young people on their views about online safety, coinciding with a Government consultation on its Internet Safety Strategy. The study found that:

• 75% of young people think social media companies should automatically block offensive or abusive messages
• Over 40% of young people don’t think digital companies consider their safety when developing websites of apps

Paul Fletcher, CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT said: “This is a positive step that will reassure parents and keep children safer, supported by the introduction of a media literacy strategy coming in the summer and online harms legislation later in the year.

“Commendably, recent Government and societal efforts have focused on the vulnerability of young people to online harm. We fully support this while re-stating that there are people from a wide range of age groups and backgrounds whose online safety requires similar attention. We encourage the Government to look at the impacts of online harms across communities and identify how these can be mitigated so everyone benefits from digital inclusion.

“Whilst domestic regulation and protections are vital, we also support UK Government efforts to continue work with international partners to shape global solutions and co-operation on digital regulation. We look forward to working with Government and other stakeholders to improve accountability, transparency and ethical practice across our industries.”

“We believe the UK won’t reach its full digital potential until everyone who is willing and able is equipped with the skills and opportunity to use the internet safely. Lack of access to digital technology is an ‘offline harm’ and further research is required to understand who is being left behind and how they can be included.

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