Ofcom announces new rules for tech firms to keep children safe online
Social media and other internet platforms will be legally required to block children’s access to harmful content from July or face large fines, Ofcom has announced.Tech firms will have to apply the measures by 25 July or risk fines – and in extreme cases being shut down – under the UK’s Online Safety Act.The communications watchdog published more than 40 measures on Monday covering sites and apps used by children, ranging from social media to search and gaming.Under the measures, the “riskiest” services, which include big social media platforms, must use “highly effective” age checks to identify under-18 users; algorithms, which recommend content to users, must filter out harmful material; all sites and apps must have procedures for taking down dangerous content quickly; and children must have a “straightforward” way to report content.Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, said the changes were a “reset” for children online and that companies failing to act would face enforcement.
“They will mean safer social media feeds with less harmful and dangerous content, protections from being contacted by strangers and effective age checks on adult content,” she said.The measures were published as the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, said he was considering a social media curfew for children after TikTok’s introduction of a feature that encourages under-16s to switch off the app after 10pm.Kyle told the Telegraph he was “watching very carefully” the impact of the wind-down feature.“These are things I am looking at.I’m not going to act on something that will have a profound impact on every single child in the country without making sure that the evidence supports it – but I am investing in [researching] the evidence,” he said.
Kyle added on Thursday that the new Ofcom codes should be a “watershed moment” that turned the tide on “toxic experiences on these platforms”.“Growing up in the digital age should mean children can reap the immense benefits of the online world safely, but in recent years too many young people have been exposed to lawless, poisonous environments online which we know can lead to real and sometimes fatal consequences.This cannot continue,” he added.Online platforms will be required to suppress the spread of harmful content, such as violent, hateful or abusive material and online bullying.More seriously harmful content, including that relating to suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, will need to be kept off children’s feeds entirely, as will pornography.
Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionThe online safety campaigner Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter, Molly, ended her life after viewing harmful content online, said the codes were “overly cautious” and put tech company profit ahead of tackling harmful content.Russell’s Molly Rose Foundation charity argues the codes do not go far enough to moderate suicide and self-harm content as well as blocking dangerous online challenges.He said: “I am dismayed by the lack of ambition in today’s codes.Instead of moving fast to fix things, the painful reality is that Ofcom’s measures will fail to prevent more young deaths like my daughter Molly’s.”
Drax needs a better policeman
Even government ministers sounded embarrassed in February when they threw yet more subsidies at Drax, recipient of £6.5bn to date, to keep its wood-burning power plant open until 2031. Few people think the biomass industry can survive in the long term unless as-yet-untested carbon capture technology can be installed.But the bizarre business of importing wood pellets from the US and Canada for incineration in North Yorkshire was given an extension because the UK’s power system, now more reliant on wind and solar generation, also needs firm “dispatchable” power that can be turned on and off in a hurry.At least Drax would have a “much more limited role” in future, explained the energy minister Michael Shanks, and 100% – not 70% as in the past – of the “woody biomass” would have to come from sustainable sources
MPs question value of billions in subsidies granted to Drax power plant
A UK government spending watchdog has questioned the value of the multibillion pound subsidies granted to the Drax power plant in North Yorkshire – and said plans to hand over billions more may not represent value for money.The government has provided about £22bn of public money to businesses and households that burn biomass pellets as fuel over the past three years, including £6.5bn for the owner of the Drax plant.The power plant, which generates about 5% of the UK’s electricity, is expected receive more than £10bn in renewable energy subsidies between 2015 and the end of 2026 – despite ongoing concerns that wood pellets are not always sustainably sourced.The Public Accounts Committee has said that biomass generators have been left to “mark their own homework” when it comes to proving that their fuel met the sustainability standards set by the subsidy scheme
Elon Musk’s xAI accused of pollution over Memphis supercomputer
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is stirring controversy in Memphis, Tennessee. That’s where he’s building a massive supercomputer to power his company xAI. Community residents and environmental activists say that since the supercomputer was fired up last summer it has become one of the biggest air polluters in the county. But some local officials have championed the billionaire, saying he’s investing in Memphis.The first public hearing with the health department is scheduled for Friday, where county officials will hear from all sides of the debate
Google reports strong earnings amid DoJ antitrust lawsuits and Trump tariffs
Google’s parent company Alphabet reported strong first quarter earnings on Thursday, despite being embroiled in antitrust lawsuits brought by the US government and seeing a 17% drop in its stock price since the beginning of the year. This is the company’s first earnings report since Donald Trump levied tariffs on trade partners around the world.Despite the upheaval for Alphabet, it exceeded Wall Street’s expectations, reporting revenue of $90.23bn, up 12% since the same time last year, and $2.81 in earnings per share
Ilona Maher mania helps US women’s rugby set attendance records
Promoters for Saturday’s men’s and women’s rugby double-header in Los Angeles are offering “VIP Courtside” seats, hailed as a chance to “feel the heart-pounding action like never before”.“With courtside seats,” the blurb goes, “you’re not just watching the game – you’re in the middle of the intensity. Every … moment of pure adrenaline is right in front of you.”Rugby is played on a pitch or a field. It has courts, but they are more usually staged on tour, rituals used to foster team unity
Collingwood’s Big Five outclass Essendon on Anzac Day’s big stage
It’s hard to know what was more impressive today at the MCG – Private Hettie Adams’ rendition of the New Zealand national anthem, or Collingwood’s Big Five. Pte Adams is flown in every Anzac Day and she never fails to stir the pulse. Collingwood’s Big Five are just as reliable.Yes, Collingwood have some excellent players who don’t qualify, so apologies to Dan Houston, Jordan De Goey, Bobby Hill and Jack Crisp, who today equalled Jim Stynes’ record for consecutive games. But for the purposes of this exercise, with Darcy Moore absent, let’s call their Big Five Nick and Josh Daicos, Scott Pendlebury, Steele Sidebottom and Jamie Elliott
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