Sep 29, 2026, 11:59 am EDT |
Joel R. McConvey
Nandy is on board with fast changes.
She doubles down on her promise that the government of Prime Minister Andy Burnham will come down hard when it comes to online safety, declaring the belief that “it is uniquely wrong that we have allowed the online spaces to be treated as private spheres, policed and regulated only by the private sector.”
“We believe there is a really strong role for the government here to step up and you can expect to see a much more interventionist government in this area.”
In order to make good on that promise, the government has some work to do in deciding on where enforcement power should sit.
Currently, Ofcom is in charge, but there remain lingering questions about capacity to be forceful enough.
One suggestion, from Maeve Walsh, director at the Online Safety Network, is to invest statutory powers in the Digital Regulations Cooperation Forum, which brings together existing regulators that cover online safety, including Ofcom, the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Competition and Markets Authority and the Office of Product Safety and Standards.
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