Children's Commission collides with Ofcom over lax OSA enforcement

Appearing before the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee, Dame Rachel de Souza DBE, Children's Commissioner for England, warned that the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) has made zero difference to children accessing harmful material online.

Giving evidence to an inquiry examining the OSA's implementation, de Souza criticised the law for prioritising content moderation over addictive platform design features. Contrasting the UK approach with significant child safety concessions secured in the recent $18 billion child safety settlement against Meta by US states, she argued the legislation lacks flexibility and fails to keep pace with emerging harms like artificial intelligence (AI) and the spreading of non-consensual sexual images.

In her testimony, de Souza revealed plans to exercise statutory powers to compel the Ofcom to disclose safety risk assessments submitted by technology companies. Ofcom has refused the disclosure, citing restrictions under section 393 of the Communications Act 2003. Calling on parliamentarians to intervene, de Souza argued that without these evaluations, the efficacy of protective measures cannot be assessed. She also called on the regulator to use all of its regulatory enforcement powers, issue substantial fines, and simplify its codes to genuinely safeguard young people.

In a related Substack article, former Deputy Information Commissioner Steve Wood considers the disagreement, noting that "while Ofcom may prevail in its legal dispute with the Children’s Commissioner, there is an urgent need for Ofcom, the Government, the Children’s Commissioner, and other relevant regulators to consider how information about submitted risk assessments should be disclosed, both publicly and between agencies."

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