The UK’s Online Safety Act1 has an important role to play in tackling the scourge of knife crime. Ofcom is responsible for implementing and enforcing the Act and has set out several measures tech firms can take to address illegal activity on their platforms, including offences related to the sale and glamourisation of knives. For example, tech firms will be required to assess the risk of illegal knife-related content being disseminated on their platforms and ensure they have robust governance measures in place to manage these risks.
Where there is a high risk of such content appearing on their platforms, they will need to resource and train their content moderation teams so they are able to accurately identify such content and quickly take it down once they become aware of it.
Ofcom’s codes also state that when services are testing potential changes to their recommender algorithms, they should measure the impact the changes would have on the risk of knife-related content being disseminated. We have supplemented these provisions with detailed guidance on what types of knife-related content are illegal and must be removed and how to recognise such content.
Where platforms don’t follow the new rules, Ofcom has robust powers to act, including the authority to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s global revenue. Taken together, Ofcom hopes these measures will help bring about a culture shift in tech firms, towards a culture where they are proactively assessing and managing the risk of illegal content, including the risk of knife-related content circulating on their platforms.
Catherine Wharton, Illegal Harms Policy Principal stated,
“Our Supervision team will engage with the largest and highest-risk services to proactively address compliance concerns. As part of this engagement, we will be working to ensure that platforms’ bladed weapons policies comply with our guidance on what knife related content is illegal and should be removed.”
Michael Railton Ofcom’s, Firearms, Knives & Weapons Lead added,
“While we think the steps we are taking so far will help combat knife-related content, we know more needs to be done. To this end, I am determined that everyone has a valued voice in shaping our regulative approach. We are working closely with law enforcement agencies, NGOs and others, to explore further – more tailored – steps we could push the platforms to take to combat the dissemination of knife-related content online.”
While the Online Safety Act has a key role to play in combatting the online sale and glamourisation of knives, it’s important to note that Ofcom’s role is to drive systemic change in online safety, rather than to manage individual complaints or remove specific content. Michael clarified that, “Our powers will not extend to taking down videos, posts or accounts, though we will absolutely expect services to have the right systems in place to ensure illegal content is removed swiftly.”
Catherine concluded,
“Our commitment to combating knife crime online remains strong, and we believe that our work on the Online Safety Act will significantly contribute to this goal, particularly through our cross-cutting codes and the requirements of the Illegal Content Judgment Guidance, which will compel platforms to align their policies on bladed weapons with UK law.”
On the 16th of December 2024, Ofcom achieved a major milestone in implementing the Online Safety Act, with the publication of our first statement related to Illegal Harms.
Check out the link to read more: Statement: Protecting people from illegal harms online - Ofcom
www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/statement-protecting-people-from-illegal-harms-online/
Call out point:
“Our greatest asset is our youth—both those who have experienced the challenges we aim to prevent and those currently facing them. I am committed to reaching and engaging with these individuals at every step of the way." – Michael Railton
Michael Railton
Senior Associate – Firearms, Knives and Weapons Lead
Online Safety Group
michael.railton@ofcom.org.uk
www.ofcom.org.uk
Catherine Wharton
Online Safety Policy Principal – Weapons, Drugs, Human Trafficking, and unlawful Immigration
Online Safety Group
catherine.wharton@ofcom.org.uk
www.ofcom.org.uk
