The UK government has laid its final statement of strategic priorities (SSP) for online safety before the UK parliament. This follows a targeted consultation towards the end of last year.
The Online Safety Act gives the government the power to issue the SSP to give Ofcom context and guidance on the government's policy priorities and desired outcomes in a number of areas relating to online safety. Ofcom must have regard to the SSP when exercising its online safety regulatory functions. The SSP are:
- Safety by design: Embed safety by design to deliver safe online experiences for all users but especially children, tackle violence against women and girls, and work towards ensuring that there are no safe havens for illegal content and activity, including fraud, child sexual exploitation and abuse, and illegal disinformation.
- Transparency and accountability: Ensure industry transparency and accountability for delivering on online safety outcomes, driving increased trust in services and expanding the evidence-base to provide safer experiences for users.
- Agile regulation: Deliver an agile approach to regulation, ensuring the framework is robust in monitoring and tackling emerging harms – such as AI-generated content – and that it increases friction for technologies which enable online harm.
- Inclusivity and resilience: Create an inclusive, informed and vibrant digital society resilient to potential harms, including disinformation.
- Technology and innovation: Foster the innovation of online safety technologies to improve the safety of users and drive growth.
Under Section 172 of the OSA, the SSP cannot be amended within five years unless there is a general election or a significant change in government policy, or the Secretary of State considers that the SSP, or part of it, conflicts with Ofcom's general duties. Section 172 also provides that the SSP may set out particular outcomes identified with a view to achieving the strategic priorities.
The Secretary of State will lay the amended SSP before Parliament for a 40-day period before the SSP can be designated. Ofcom must explain what it proposes to do to follow the SSP within 40 days of the designation of the SSP or within a longer period set by the Secretary of Statee. Ofcom must also, as soon as practicable after a period of 12 months from the designation of the SSP and after every subsequent period of 12 months, publish a review of what it has done to follow the SSP.
This matters as the SSP set a strategic direction as well as providing some useful pointers about the government's thinking on online safety. Among other things, it talks about the importance of combating disinformation. It also mentions "small but risky" platforms and states that it expects Ofcom to continue focusing its efforts on safety improvements among services that pose the highest risk of harm to users, including small but risky services. The government expects to see enforcement action taken against small but risky services which do not comply. It also highlights the importance of protecting children and for tech platforms to use effective age assurance.
The SSP is useful for platforms to understand the direction of travel and the priority areas for enforcement and activity as the regime comes fully into force.
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