New social media measures announced for the UK
Online safety watchdog, Ofcom, has launched new industry guidance demanding that tech firms step up to deliver a safer online experience for millions of women and girls in the UK.
Women and girls face distinct and serious risks online, including misogynistic abuse, sexual violence, coordinated pile-ons, stalking, coercive control, and intimate image abuse, the regulator said.
Ofcom’s guidance, published on Tuesday (25 November), includes a wide range of practical safety measures that the regulator is urging tech firms to adopt to tackle these harms.
These go above and beyond what is needed to comply with their legal duties under the Online Safety Act, setting a new and ambitious standard for women’s and girls’ online safety.
The guidance was developed with insights from victims, survivors, safety experts, women’s advocacy groups and organisations working with men and boys. Its launch is also supported by Sport England as part of their wider This Girl Can campaign, and WSL Football to raise awareness of women’s safety when taking part in sport and exercise.
Ofcom has also written to sites and apps, setting an expectation that they start to take immediate action in line with the guidance.
What is included in the new guidance?
Ofcom’s practical guidance, supported by case-study examples, sets out where tech companies can and should do more, while taking account of important human rights, including freedom of expression and privacy.
Focusing on four main areas of harm, the guidance makes clear how we expect services to design and test their services with safety in mind, and improve their reporting tools and support systems to better protect women and girls:
Misogynistic abuse and sexual violence
This includes content that spreads hate or violence against women, or normalises sexual violence, including some types of pornography. It can be both illegal or harmful to children and is often pushed by algorithms towards young men and boys. This includes:
- Introducing ‘prompts’ asking users to reconsider before posting harmful content;
- Imposing ‘timeouts’ for users who repeatedly attempt to abuse a platform or functionality to target victims;
- Promoting diverse content and perspectives through their recommender ‘for you’ systems to help prevent toxic echo chambers; and
- De-monetising posts or videos which promote misogynistic abuse and sexual violence.
Pile-ons and coordinated harassment
This happens when groups gang up to target a specific woman or group of women with abuse, threats, or hate. Such content may be illegal or harmful to children and often affects women in public life. This includes:
- Setting volume limits on posts (“rate limiting”) to help prevent mass-posting of abuse in pile-ons;
- Allowing users to quickly block or mute multiple accounts at once; and
- Introducing more sophisticated tools for users to make multiple reports and track their progress.
Stalking and coercive control
This covers criminal offences where a perpetrator uses technology to stalk an individual or control a partner or family member. This includes:
- ‘Bundling’ safety features to make it easier to set accounts to private;
- Introducing enhanced visibility restrictions to control who can see past and present content;
- Ensuring stronger account security; and
- Remove geolocation by default.
Image-based sexual abuse
This refers to criminal offences involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and cyberflashing. This includes:
- Using automated technology known as ‘hash-matching’ to detect and remove non-consensual intimate images;
- Blurring nudity, giving adults the option to override;
- Signposting users to supportive information including how to report a potential crime.
