Ofcom's Cheshire Tackles Online Safety Challenges

0:00On April 8, Ian Chesher just stepped into the chair at Offcom and has played his stack with challenges from telecoms and broadband to postal, services and media, but the real heavyweight is online safety, where Offcom enforces the UK's Online Safety Act to regulate social media platforms. Back when Offcom lost over 20 years ago, most Brits had no internet, no smartphones or streaming apps, and folks sent way more letters. Fast forward and the 2026-27 plan ramps up efforts across all those sectors, pushing for quicker action, especially online. Safety advocates like Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her life after seeing harmful online content, are calling for tougher rules. They lost faith last year when Offcom struggled to shut down a suicide form kids could access, putting pressure on Chesher to balance safety and free speech. And kicked off last year, with strict age gating on platforms, and now there's an investigation

1:00into Elon Musk's Grock AI for generating. Explicit images of women and girls, court cases have delayed extra rules for giants like Google and Instagram. Meanwhile, incidents like misinformation after the Southport killings keep the heat on, testing the acts teeth as Chesher rolls out plans to curb. Illegal viral content and track harm to kids. With patients running thin, expect online safety to shape his whole tenure.