Daily Junction.mobi portalThe Online Safety Act is one of the most ambitious attempts by any democracy to regulate social media and hold Big Tech accountable for the harms its platforms enable. But ambition is not enough. Effective regulation requires resources, expertise, political will, and the ability to withstand industry pressure.
Ofcom has some of these elements but not all. It is under-resourced relative to the scale of the task, lacks deep technical expertise in algorithmic systems, and operates in a political environment that is wary of being seen as anti-business. Early enforcement has been cautious, focusing on illegal content rather than systemic harms.
The risk is that the Online Safety Act becomes a paper tiger: tough-sounding legislation that produces compliance theatre but does not fundamentally change how platforms operate. If that happens, the harms will continue, public trust in regulation will erode, and the opportunity to bring Big Tech under democratic control will be lost.
The next 12 months will be critical. If Ofcom can impose meaningful fines, force algorithmic transparency, and demonstrate that it will not be intimidated by platform threats to withdraw services, the Online Safety Act may succeed. If not, it will join a long list of well-intentioned regulations that failed to match rhetoric with reality.