Neowin News Feed for: Ofcom

UK regulator puts YouTube and TikTok on notice over children's online safety

Hamid Ganji — Thu, 21 May 2026 05:54:01 +0000

YouTube and TikTok have faced scrutiny from the UK watchdog Ofcom over insufficient safety measures to protect underage users. Read more...

Ofcom hits suicide forum with £950k fine and probes porn sites under OSA

Paul Hill — Wed, 13 May 2026 13:04:01 +0000

New enforcement actions under the Online Safety Act target sites failing to protect minors and vulnerable users. Here is what happens next for the platforms. Read more...

Telegram faces UK ban threat as Ofcom launches massive safety investigation

Paul Hill — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:14:01 +0000

Ofcom is playing hardball. From multimillion-pound penalties to total platform blocks, see why Telegram is in the crosshairs and what this means for the future of the app in the UK. Read more...

Men are ditching TV for YouTube as AI usage and social media fatigue grow

Paul Hill — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 09:14:01 +0000

New data reveals how British online life is changing, with YouTube replacing traditional TV for many and AI tools becoming go-to sources for relationship advice and creativity. Read more...

UK government issues guidance on upcoming 2G network switch-off

Paul Hill — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:24:01 +0000

While 3G is already a thing of the past for most, the UK is now setting its sights on the final retirement of 2G connectivity. Read more...

Pornhub to block itself for new users following tough rules in the UK

Aditya Tiwari — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 06:42:01 +0000

Pornhub announced that it will become inaccessible to most UK users in response to the Online Safety Act. Read more...

UK shifts legal responsibility on cyberflashing from victim to platform to protect girls

Paul Hill — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:33:47 +0000

With a third of teenage girls receiving unsolicited sexual images, the UK is mandating AI filters to end the era of the "law-free" internet. Read more...

Ofcom investigates more porn sites for age-check failures

Paul Hill — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 10:28:01 +0000

Ofcom, the UK digital regulator, has said it's investigating five companies that run 22 porn sites for not implementing age verification. Read more...

Steam rolls out new age verification system for PC gamers in the United Kingdom

Pulasthi Ariyasinghe — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 18:40:01 +0000

Steam is the latest platform to roll out an age verification system for users in the United Kingdom. Valve says it opted for a method that focuses on user privacy. Read more...

4chan and Kiwi Farms sue UK over alleged First Amendment violation in Online Safety Act

David Uzondu — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 23:10:01 +0000

The UK's Online Safety Act, overseen by Ofcom, has stirred controversy over free speech and privacy concerns. Now, 4chan and Kiwi Farms are challenging the law in court. Read more...

Wikipedia's UK legal challenge fails, leaving volunteers exposed to danger

Paul Hill — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 15:28:01 +0000

The Wikimedia Foundation has lost its legal challenge against the Online Safety Act's categorization regulations, depriving it of immediate legal protections it wanted. Read more...

UK enforces strict new online age checks today

Paul Hill — Fri, 25 Jul 2025 16:30:01 +0000

Websites in the UK hosting pornographic or other harmful content must have age checks in place from today or face the wrath of Ofcom. Read more...

Google and Sparkasse pioneer EU‑scale, wallet‑based digital age checks

Fiza Ali — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 18:42:01 +0000

Google and Sparkasse plan to roll out Europe's first wallet‑based age verification to safeguard privacy. Read more...

UK planning measures to stop illegal content from going viral

Usama Jawad — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:16:01 +0000

The UK's digital regulator is proposing new ways to moderate and restrict illegal content like CSAM from going viral online. Read more...

PornHub commits to age checks for UK users by 25 July

Paul Hill — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 14:24:02 +0000

Ofcom has named several porn websites which have publicly committed to implementing age checks for UK visitors by 25 July. Among them, PornHub is the most well known. Read more...

Ofcom takes decisive action against powerful tool of malicious actors

Paul Hill — Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:10:01 +0000

Ofcom has announced that it's banning the leasing of Global Titles to help protect people from malicious actors who use Global Titles to intercept calls and messages. Read more...

Your favorite adult sites might soon ask for a selfie and ID, thanks to UK's digital rules

Paul Hill — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 13:12:02 +0000

UK residents looking to access porn will be in for a little bit of a shock from July 2025 as Ofcom says many providers implementing age-check systems. Read more...

OnlyFans fined £1.05 million by Ofcom for age verification failures

Paul Hill — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 13:12:01 +0000

The UK's digital regulator Ofcom has slapped OnlyFans with a £1.05 million fine for providing inaccurate information about its age verification processes. Read more...

UK starts enforcing the Online Safety Act from today

Paul Hill — Mon, 17 Mar 2025 07:08:01 +0000

The UK's digital regulator will start enforcing the Online Safety Act from today; based on a previous statement. Companies have had three months to perform risk assessments. Read more...

UK fires starting gun on new online safety rules

Paul Hill — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:10:01 +0000

The UK has fired the starting gun on its new online safety rules. Affected tech firms have until mid-March to come up with assessments about illegal harms on their platforms. Read more...

Vodafone and Three are free to merge, says UK competition regulator

Paul Hill — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 10:48:02 +0000

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority has given Vodafone and Three the go-ahead to merge after the pair agreed certain commitments. Read more...

Data shows British men use generative AI more than women

Paul Hill — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 17:46:01 +0000

A new report from Ofcom has looked at how people use online services based on their gender. It found that women were less likely to use generative AI and dating websites. Read more...

UK adults' daily internet time has increased since last year, says report

Aditya Tiwari — Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:04:01 +0000

A new report claims that UK adults' daily average internet usage has increased by 18%. Of all age groups, young adults (18-24) were found to be the ones most glued to the internet each day. Read more...

Virgin Media O2 announces pounds and pence price increases from April

Paul Hill — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:58:01 +0000

Virgin Media O2 has unveiled its plans for pounds and pence price increases from April to make things easier for customers to understand. Read more...

OnlyFans, BitChute, and Twitch improve child safety ahead of Online Safety Act enforcement

Paul Hill — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 17:52:01 +0000

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has issued a stern warning to tech firms to make sure they're prepared to comply with the Online Safety Act. Read more...

Which? warns UK users to keep mobile numbers to avoid security risks

Paul Hill — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 13:22:02 +0000

A new warning from Which? highlights the risks of recycling mobile numbers, urging users to keep theirs active to avoid unwanted calls and potential security breaches. Read more...

BBC's Ceefax teletext service launched 50 years ago today

Paul Hill — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 13:52:02 +0000

Launched in 1974, Ceefax became the first teletext service, peaking at 22 million weekly users. It changed how millions accessed news before digital took over. Read more...

Ofcom's One Touch Switch expanded to boost broadband competition across networks

Paul Hill — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 13:42:01 +0000

Ofcom expands One Touch Switch rules, allowing easier broadband and phone switching. This move aims to enhance competition and could lead to lower prices for consumers. Read more...

Will Twitch's success inspire other platforms to tighten content rules?

Paul Hill — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 10:54:02 +0000

Ofcom's analysis shows a significant increase in correct content labeling on Twitch since the policy's introduction last year. Read more...

UK regulator fines TikTok almost £2 million for providing incorrect information

Paul Hill — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:44:01 +0000

TikTok has received a 25%-reduced fine of £1.875 million from the UK communications regulator Ofcom for providing incorrect information about its parental control feature, Family Pairing. Read more...

UK regulator finally takes action on inflation-linked mid-contract price hikes

Paul Hill — Sat, 20 Jul 2024 12:58:01 +0000

Ofcom has finally put an end to inflation-linked price rises for UK customers in phone, broadband, and pay-TV contracts. However, it is too late to help those walloped by the recent inflation. Read more...

Ofcom fines BT £2.8 million for failing its EE and Plusnet customers

Paul Hill — Wed, 22 May 2024 11:22:01 +0000

BT has been fined £2,800,000 by Ofcom for failing to provide a summary of its contracts to EE and Plusnet customers before they signed up. BT will also have to let people exit contracts without fees. Read more...

U.K. regulator Ofcom probes OnlyFans for failure to protect minors from explicit content

Karthik Mudaliar — Wed, 01 May 2024 12:26:01 +0000

U.K. media regulator Ofcom has launched an investigation into adult content-sharing platform OnlyFans regarding the platform's insufficient age-verification measures that failed to restrict minors. Read more...

Ofcom says search engines act as self-harm gateways

Paul Hill — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 04:44:02 +0000

Ofcom is set to make search engines do more to protect users against self-harm content. A study it commissioned found that self-harm glorification was easily accessible from search results. Read more...

Shell Energy fined £1.4 million for not telling customers to review contracts

Paul Hill — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 18:42:02 +0000

Shell Energy was fined £1.4 million by the regulator Ofcom for not properly informing customers that they were out of contract or that their contract was coming to an end. The issue is now resolved. Read more...

Which? calls for broadband mid-contract price hike ban

Paul Hill — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 14:20:01 +0000

Which? has called on the broadband regulator, Ofcom, to put a ban in place on mid-contract price rises. It said consumers will face steep price increases in 2024 just as they have in 2023. Read more...

Microsoft is in the UK CMA's sights again, this time on its general cloud software business

John Callaham — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 12:46:01 +0000

Microsoft and Amazon are among the cloud providers that are the target of a newly announced investigation by the UK Competition and Markets Authority regulatory body, based on an Ofcom study. Read more...

The average download speed in the UK has hit 69.4 Mbit/s

Paul Hill — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 13:28:01 +0000

According to Ofcom, the UK broadband situation has improved over the last year. It said download and upload speeds had improved and that peak-time usage was having a bit less impact on speeds. Read more...

Privacy protection amendments for encrypted messages added to UK bill

Paul Hill — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 13:20:01 +0000

A new amendment to the Online Safety Bill will require a report to be submitted by an expert before Ofcom can decrypt people's messages. It's designed to add balance to the safety bill. Read more...

6 GHz spectrum hybrid sharing idea for Wi-Fi and mobile floated by Ofcom

Paul Hill — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 19:46:01 +0000

Ofcom has outlined how the upper 6 GHz spectrum band could be used by both Wi-Fi and mobile traffic. It calls the approach 'hybrid sharing' and outlined several ways that it could be implemented. Read more...