Category Archives: Objectification

Online age checks must be in force as from 25 July 2025 – Ofcom

  • Tech firms must introduce age checks to prevent children from accessing porn, self-harm, suicide and eating disorder content
  • Bluesky, Discord, Grindr, Reddit and X among latest firms to commit to age-gating, while Ofcom lines up targets for enforcement
  • Sites and apps where children spend most time must make their feeds safer

Sites and apps which allow harmful content must protect children from accessing it from the end of this week, Ofcom has warned, as the deadline approaches for tech firms to comply with new rules.

The changes mean that risky sites and apps – large and small – must use highly effective ‘age gating’ methods to identify which users are children, and then prevent them from accessing pornography, as well as self-harm, suicide and eating disorder content.

Services which allow porn

Ahead of the 25 July deadline, change is already happening. Over the last month, the UK’s biggest and most popular adult service providers – including Porn Hub – plus thousands of smaller sites have committed to deploying age-checks across their services. This means it will be harder for children in the UK to access online porn than in any other OECD country.

Other online platforms have now announced they will deploy age assurance – including Bluesky, Discord, Grindr, Reddit and X.

Ofcom is ready to enforce against any company which allows pornographic content and does not comply with age-check requirements by the deadline. Today we are extending our existing age assurance enforcement programme – previously focused on studio porn services – to cover all platforms that allow users to share pornographic material, whether they are dedicated adult sites or other services that include pornography.

We will be actively checking compliance from 25 July and, should it be necessary, we expect to launch any investigations into individual services next week. These would add to 11 Ofcom investigations already in progress.

Age checks to shield children from other harms

Under our rules, sites that allow other forms of harmful content must also have highly effective age checks from 25 July.

We are launching a new age assurance enforcement programme, building on work undertaken by our ‘small but risky taskforce,’ to monitor the response from industry. This will specifically target sites dedicated to the dissemination of harmful content, including self-harm and suicide, eating disorder or extreme violence/gore.

Protecting children on the most popular sites and apps

As well as preventing children from encountering the most harmful content relating to suicide, self-harm, eating disorders and pornography, Ofcom’s Codes also demand that online services act to protect children from dangerous stunts or challenges, misogynistic, violent, hateful or abusive material, and online bullying.

Even where sites and apps do not technically allow these types of harmful material under their terms of service, Ofcom’s research shows that such content can be all too prevalent. In particular, we know that content recommended in personalised ‘for you’ feeds represents children’s main pathway to encountering these harms. Our Codes are clear, among other things, that algorithms must be tamed and configured for children so that the most harmful material is blocked.

To hold sites and apps to account, we are today launching an extensive monitoring and impact programme, primarily focused on the biggest platforms where children spend most time – including Facebook, Instagram, Roblox, Snap, TikTok and YouTube. This will include:

  • a comprehensive review of these platforms’ efforts to assess risks to children, which must be submitted to Ofcom by 7 August at the latest. We will report on our analysis of these assessments later this year;
  • scrutinising these platforms’ practical actions to keep children safe – details of which must be disclosed to Ofcom by 30 September. We will interrogate in particular: whether they have effective means of knowing who their child users are; how their content moderation tools identify types of content harmful to children; how effectively they have configured their algorithms so that the most harmful material is blocked in children’s feeds; and how they have prevented children from being contacted by adult strangers;
  • tracking children’s online experiences to judge whether safety is improving in practice – through our ongoing programme of children’s research and consulting with children through new work with the Children’s Commissioner for England; and
  • swift enforcement action if evidence suggests that platforms are failing to comply with their child safety duties.

This activity is in addition to our ongoing action to enforce our illegal harms Codes, including measures to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation online.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/protecting-children/online-age-checks-must-be-in-force-from-tomorrow

July 29, 2025

Bectu calls on creative industries to get behind independent standards authority as 9 in 10 creative workers say they have been sexually harassed at work

Bectu, the UK’s union for creative industry workers, has called on broadcasters, studios, streamers, production companies and other creative industry bodies and employers to financially back the newly-established Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority – as 84% of industry workers say the sector needs an independent body to investigate, report and prevent harassment.

  • One in five working in the UK’s creative industries have experienced a serious sexual assault while at work.
  • Of those who have reported an incident to their employer, just 9% thought that it was dealt with appropriately.
  • 92% agree that the creative industries allows a dynamic where those in power can too easily abuse their status.
  • Bectu trade union has launched a helpline for members who experience sexual harassment at work.

This comes as new research from the union reveals that a shocking 92% of the workforce has witnessed or experienced bullying or harassment on grounds of their sex or gender in the workplace. The research also points to a lack of adequate and trusted reporting mechanisms, with just 13% of UK creative workers confident that the industry is taking effective action to deter unwanted behaviours at work.

The survey of workers across the UK’s creative industries – including film and TV, theatre, live events, broadcasting and cinema – found that six in ten creative workers had experienced unwanted and/or inappropriate touching, hugging or kissing; and a quarter have witnessed the circulation of pornography in the workplace.

85 per cent of those surveyed had experienced or witnessed an incident of sexual harassment in their place of work (85%), and for half of those surveyed, incidents had occurred at a work-related social event.

For the majority, the perpetrator was a colleague (64%) or multiple colleagues (37%), and most likely someone senior (55%) or the person’s manager or head of department (26%). For those working in theatre, live events and cinemas, perpetrators were more likely to be attending events or members of the public.

Worryingly, respondents felt that high-profile cases, such as the allegations against Russell Brand, have done little to shift the dial; only 14% say that high-profile cases have improved employers’ responses to sexual harassment in the creative sector.

Reporting systems broken; toxic environments allowed to fester

The survey found that reporting systems across the creative industries are not fit for purpose, with many driven to leave their job rather than reporting sexual harassment, for fear of reprisal. This disproportionately affects the freelance workforce – of those who left their job, 31% were in full time employment and 69% were freelancers.

83% of respondents felt that behaviours that would be considered toxic and inappropriate in public life are often tolerated in the creative sector, and just a third of respondents (and less than a quarter of freelancers) felt confident about how to report an incident of sexual harassment at work.

More than 60% chose not to report an incident because they were worried it would negatively impact their career.

Freelancers even more exposed

The precarity of freelancing alongside a lack of employee support structures means that freelancers working in the creative industries face even more challenges when dealing with sexual harassment at work.

84% of respondents believe it is harder to report incidents of sexual harassment as a freelancer.

More than half of freelancers did not report incidents because they were worried that it might lose them work (59%) or that it would negatively impact their career (71% compared to 30% of full time employees).

Many respondents talked about the power imbalances and that they felt disposable compared to performers or ‘talent’ that they worked with.

Part of a longer press release at https://bectu.org.uk/news/bectu-calls-on-creative-industries-to-get-behind-independent-standards-authority-as-9-in-10-creative-workers-say-they-have-been-sexually-harassed-at-work

June 3, 2024

Social media algorithms amplify misogynistic content to teens – UCL Studies

Social media algorithms amplify extreme content, such as misogynistic posts, which normalises harmful ideologies for young people, finds a new report led by a UCL researcher.

The research, conducted in partnership between UCL, the University of Kent and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), found a fourfold increase in the level of misogynistic content in the “For You” page of TikTok accounts over just five days on the platform, in an algorithmic modelling study.

Through interviews with young people and school leaders, the researchers also found that hateful ideologies and misogynistic tropes have moved off screens and into schools, becoming embedded in mainstream youth cultures.

The report authors stress the need for a “healthy digital diet” approach to education to support young people, schools, parents and the community at large. They also say it is essential to champion the voices of young people themselves, particularly to include boys as part of discussions regarding online misogyny, and they suggest a “peer-to-peer” mentoring approach.

The researchers began the study by interviewing young people engaging with and producing radical online content. This then informed the algorithmic study in the creation of archetypes, to represent typologies of teenage boys who may be vulnerable to becoming radicalised by online content. The researchers set up accounts on TikTok for each archetype, with distinct content interests typical of these archetypes (for example, seeking out content on masculinity or addressing loneliness), and researchers used these accounts to watch videos that TikTok suggested in its “For You” page, over a period of seven days.

Initial suggested content was in line with the stated interests of each archetype, such as with material exploring themes of loneliness or self-improvement, but then increasingly focused on anger and blame directed at women. After five days, the TikTok algorithm was presenting four times as many videos with misogynistic content such as objectification, sexual harassment or discrediting women (increasing from 13% of recommended videos to 56%).

The research team led roundtables and interviews with school leaders, who attested that misogynistic tropes are becoming normalised in how young people interact in person as well.

The researchers set out the following recommendations:

  • Holding social media companies accountable, and applying pressure on them to address the harm caused by their algorithms and prioritise the wellbeing of young people over profit.
  • Implementing “healthy digital diet” education, which considers different types of screen time and digital content young people are engaging with, akin to different food groups, considering how much of it is consumed, how it can become “ultra-processed” due to algorithms, and potential impacts on mental and physical health.
  • Peer to peer mentoring, empowering older pupils to work with their younger peers, and helping to involve boys in discussions around misogyny.
  • Promoting wider awareness of algorithmic processes among parents and the community at large.

The researchers say that their research may apply similarly to other social media platforms, supported by other groups’ research on Instagram and YouTube, for example, while social media algorithms can also favour other harmful content types such self-harm material or extreme ideologies. Previous research involving Dr Regehr and UCL colleagues has found sexual violence online is routinely experienced by women and girls, which has further increased in recent years. This work fed into new digital flashing legislation in 2022.*

* Two studies co-led by UCL’s Professor Jessica Ringrose: UCL News, 2021: Young peoples’ rates of reporting online harassment and abuse are ‘shockingly low’ (see more: IOE research informs Online Safety Bill); UCL News, 2024: UK teens experience spike in online harm during Covid-19 pandemic

Part of a longer press release at https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/feb/social-media-algorithms-amplify-misogynistic-content-teens

 

February 16, 2024

Major milestone for sexual offences legislation – Department of Justice Northern Ireland

New offences including “up-skirting”, “down-blousing” and “cyber-flashing” came into effect on 27 November 2023, Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced.

The changes to the law on sexual offending mark the final stage of the implementation of the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 – a key area of the Department’s legislative reform programme.

Permanent Secretary at the Department of Justice, Richard Pengelly CB, said: “The commencement of these new provisions completes the final stage of a comprehensive implementation programme established to bring the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 into operation.

“The combination of new laws addresses a range of particular behaviours which have become increasingly prevalent within society, and it strengthens some existing law identified as needing additional protection.”

The changes to the law include:

  • Four new offences to capture the specific and highly intrusive behaviours of, what is commonly known as, “up-skirting” and “down-blousing”. They relate to the observing or recording of a person’s genitals, buttocks, breasts or underwear without a person’s consent;
  • The new offence of “sending an unwanted sexual image” to capture the behaviour of those who intentionally send an image of their genitals or sexual activity to another person without that person’s consent.  This is commonly known as “cyber-flashing”;
  • Four new offences designed to tackle the particular behaviour of an adult pretending to be a child and making a communication with a child under 16 with a view to sexual grooming.  These act as a precursor to more serious grooming behaviours and build on existing child grooming protections;
  • Extending the scope of the established abuse of position of trust offences to capture those adults in a position of trust who knowingly coach, teach, train, supervise or instruct a child on a regular basis in the area of sport or religion; and
  • Amending the existing offence of disclosing a private sexual photograph and film with intent to cause distress to bring the behaviour of threatening to disclose a private sexual photograph and film with intent to cause distress within its scope.

Part of a longer press release at https://www.justice-ni.gov.uk/news/major-milestone-sexual-offences-legislation

 

November 29, 2023

Government ignores calls for sex education targeted at boys to tackle harassment – Women and Equalities Committee

The Government has refused to commit to a new strategy in schools on issues of sexual harassment and gender-based violence that is specifically aimed at engaging boys and young men, despite calls in a recent report from MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee. 

The cross-party group of MPs’ inquiry on attitudes towards women and girls in educational settings found that existing relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in schools is less engaging and applicable to boys than girls, despite boys and men being most responsible for harm and abuse.

The Government’s response, published today, fails to engage with recommendations by the Committee regarding its ongoing review of the statutory guidance on RSHE, emphasising that it is still “underway” and will be followed by a “full public consultation”. However, there is no clear indication of what to expect in the updated guidance for schools, including no Government commitment to content on tackling violence against women and girls.

In its report, published in July, the Committee called on the Government to commit to a number of improvements to RSHE including additional resources for schools and mandatory RSHE in post-16 education, a recommendation which is now under Government consideration.

Also published today are Ofsted and the Office for Students responses to the Committee’s report. Responding to MPs’ recommendation that Ofsted investigates the level of abuse experienced by female teachers and staff, Ofsted has said that this is not a “specific inspection focus” and that others are better placed to address the issue.

While the Committee welcomes the progress made in the higher education sector in tackling sexual harassment, both the Government and Office for Students have failed to back bystander intervention programmes as a requirement on campuses.

The Office for Students faced pressure from the Committee to ensure universities provide compulsory bystander intervention programmes, teaching students how to intervene if they witness harassment, by strengthening the expectation it places on universities.

Part of a longer press release at https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/198514/government-ignores-calls-for-sex-education-targeted-at-boys-to-tackle-harassment/

 

November 24, 2023