Internet: Safety

(asked on 18th March 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the report Protecting What Matters, published on 9 March, how many times Ofcom have used powers to require companies to share information regarding their algorithms since the Online Safety Act 2023 came into force; what assessment they have made of the safety of those algorithms; and whether that assessment of safety includes impact on social cohesion.


Answered by
 Portrait
Baroness Lloyd of Effra
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
This question was answered on 10th April 2026

Ofcom has various powers under the Online Safety Act to obtain information from services, including information regarding their algorithms. However, Ofcom does not publish, or provide to DSIT, details of how many information notices they have issued.

In March 2026, Ofcom updated on its work on safer feeds for children. To inform Ofcom’s assessment of these systems, it issued legally-binding information requests to large platforms and has said it will publicly report on the responses in May.

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