UK Government recommends proactive approach to user safety by video sharing platforms

What are the UK Government’s recommendations to video sharing platforms regarding the safety of content on their platforms?

The question

What are the UK Government’s recommendations to video sharing platforms regarding the safety of content on their platforms?

The key takeaway

Video sharing platforms, user-generated content providers and search engines should proactively implement user protections and safety mechanisms into their platforms. 

The background

The video sharing platform (VSP) industry has experienced rapid growth over recent years. Since November 2020, the VSP industry has been regulated by Ofcom. In October 2021, Ofcom issued guidance to VSPs to protect users from harmful material through measures such as parental control systems and age verification. As currently drafted, the Online Safety Bill (discussed in previous Snapshots) will also impose user safety obligations on search engine providers and user-generated content hosts more generally. 

The development

A report published in October 2022 by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) (Insights into the Video Sharing Platform sector by Oliver Wyman) examined the VSP industry and the regulatory framework surrounding it. 

The report argued that VSPs do not currently appropriately balance their objectives of maximising user engagement and profit with promoting user safety. It found that the “majority of users are regularly exposed to video content that they consider inappropriate, distressing or deliberately misleading”.

The report forwards that VSPs should take a more systemic approach by embedding user safety into product development and being proactive rather than reactive to the risks of harmful content. It outlines an iterative process that can be implemented by VSPs to reduce the risk of user exposure comprising: (i) identifying risks; (ii) implementing user safety measures; (iii) reviewing and reporting on those measures; and (iv) building the infrastructure to support this process. 

Why is this important?

The report is a useful reminder of the importance of user safety and that failure to police content appropriately could lead to damaging, highly-publicised events. In addition, whilst the Online Safety Bill is subject to yet further debate in Parliament, platforms must be alive to the fact that online safety is very much on the legislative agenda in the UK.

Any practical tips?

In the wider context, platforms subject to the EU Digital Services Act will already be readying themselves for the host of user safety obligations set out within it. Therefore, it would make sense for compliance teams to take account of the findings and suggestions in the report as part of any changes to their systems or processes. As for the much-debated Online Safety Bill, companies must keep an eye on its legislative progress and take advantage of opportunities to weigh in on the debate.

Winter 2022