Ofcom's CEO on the regulator's new powers to police tech: kids are the first priority, companies must detect and remove CSAM, and working in harmony with the EU
Where the laws have different scope, it's important that implementing them does not create conflicts for companies
Financial TimesMelanie Dawes
Context & Ripple Effects
The UK had already contemplated penalties for services that fail to remove CSAM in the Online Safety Bill amendment, giving Ofcom’s new remit a clear enforcement-oriented foundation. This interview frames child safety and cross-border implementation as the practical tests of that authority.
Later coverage shows the remit moving from broad obligations toward algorithm changes and stronger age checks and eventual Online Safety Act enforcement. The important issue is not only what platforms must remove, but whether UK requirements can be implemented alongside EU rules without conflicting compliance systems.
First-order effects
Tech companies within Ofcom’s scope must prepare to detect and remove CSAM, making child-safety controls an immediate operational and governance responsibility.
Ofcom becomes a more consequential counterpart for platforms: its child-safety priorities can shape how companies interpret and implement their UK obligations.
Second-order effects
Platforms operating across the UK and EU face pressure to reconcile overlapping safety workflows, documentation and product controls rather than build rules that conflict by market.
If enforcement remains focused on demonstrable protection for minors, platform governance will increasingly be judged through auditable safety outcomes rather than voluntary content-policy commitments.
The broader regulatory challenge will be interoperability: national platform rules can become a market-access constraint unless regulators and companies align implementation across jurisdictions.
The trend: Online-safety regulation is shifting platform child protection from a policy commitment into an enforceable, cross-border product and compliance function.
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