LONDON — Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.
Pursuant to provisions of the U.K.’s Online Safety Act, Ofcom will issue specific requirements to individual service providers in order to ensure “an appropriate level of safety, transparency, and accountability,” the agency said in a statement.
The official guidance notes that transparency notices issued to sites will detail a series of requirements, including the information to be included in the provider’s transparency report, the required format and the deadline for submitting the report.
Those requirements will vary according to the type of platform.
“For services targeted at adults, we would likely focus more on questions that help us understand the provider’s process for age assurance,” the Ofcom statement notes.
Failure to comply with transparency reporting duties may result in Ofcom taking enforcement action.
As XBIZ reported in March, Ofcom has made age assurance guidelines for adult sites available to enable compliance with the Online Safety Act.