LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Media regulator Ofcom has issued research backing up the need for statutory regulation on social media after finding that 45% of UK adult internet users admitted to having experienced online harm.
Tech companies such as Facebook or Google could be regulated in the same way as mobile phone and broadband companies, Ofcom said on Tuesday.

The UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee published an interim report on disinformation and 'fake news' that included a recommendation that existing broadcasting standards be used as the basis for new online standards.

With the government having suggested it intends to legislate to improve online safety, the Ofcom released a 'discussion paper' ahead of the government's proposed White Paper this winter.

Ofcom, which has the power to hit firms with substantial fines if they do not meet standards, set out a number of areas and targets that could be set for tech firms. "Effective enforcement could be achieved through meaningful financial penalties," the regulator said, noting that the GDPR allows for penalties of up to 4% of global turnover for the most serious breaches.

A study carried out by the regulator showed that 79% of UK adult internet users are concerned about certain aspects of going online.

Around 66% are concerned about content that people view, read or listen to online, and over half of users are concerned about data/privacy, interactions with other users and hacking/security.

The study revealed that around half of UK adult internet users admitted to experiencing some form of online harm but only 21% of these have taken action to report the harmful content.

The study also found that a significant proportion of the public does not properly understand the broadcast and online regulatory framework and are therefore unable to form an opinion on whether current regulations are sufficient or not.

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