Ofcom Calls on Companies to Protect Women from Online Harassment

• Ofcom recommends that technology companies implement measures to protect women from online harassment.
• This includes proposals regarding the limitation of comments and improving tools for transparency regarding abuse.
• Organizations are calling on the government to create Ofcom's recommendations mandatory for implementation.

Ofcom, the communications regulator in the United Kingdom, has called on technology companies to take measures to combat "significant and widespread" online harassment targeting women. The new recommendations specify that women in sports, politics, and other public spheres face harassment online every day.

In particular, this issue became relevant after Sport England's chief, Chris Boardman, reached out to Ofcom regarding the portrayal of the women's football team of England during Euro 2025. Also, the young parliamentarian, Rosie Raithing, shared her experience, stating that many women avoid politics due to such online harassment.

The Ofcom recommendations, which are gaining traction at the closest time, call for social networks, dating sites, and platforms for online gaming to take on greater responsibility. In a letter to the providers, Dame Melanie Dawes, the chief executive of Ofcom, emphasized that the digital world "should not be a place where women and girls have to think twice before expressing their opinion online or fear being harassed."

Among the proposals is the introduction of a prompt that would encourage users to moderate their publications before posting them, limiting the number of comments on one account, and the ability to quickly block or report multiple accounts at once. It is also recommended to utilize technology to identify and remove illegal images, such as "revenge porn."

Although these recommendations are not mandatory, organizations like Internet Matters are calling on the government to make them mandatory to ensure real protection for women and girls online. If companies do not implement measures, Ofcom promised to consider the possibility of tightening the Online Safety Law.

In her statement, Dame Melanie Dawes noted that no woman should have to think twice before expressing her opinion online or fear being stalked. The Minister of Sport, Steven Picket, referred to images aimed at sportswomen as "disturbing" and called on technology companies to "take measures and address this issue."

Tags: Europe/Politics/Technology