UK ICO and Ofcom Joint Statement on Regulation of Online Services

On May 1, 2024, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) and the UK regulator for communications and online safety, Ofcom, issued a joint statement regarding their collaboration on the regulation of online services where online safety and data protection intersect. This statement builds on the joint statement published in 2022. The latest statement outlines several areas of collaboration between the ICO and Ofcom.

In particular, the ICO and Ofcom will:

• Identify and continuously monitor the emergence of issues that are of common interest because of their “thematic and substantive relevance” to online safety and data protection – these are referred to as “Collaboration Themes,” and include default settings and geolocation settings for child users, as well as age assurance;
• Pursue “more effective joint regulatory collaboration” by identifying companies or services that are subject to both the online safety and data protection regimes, and are of current regulatory interest to both the ICO and Ofcom; and
• Disclosure of information between themselves, including in relation to particular companies or services.

The ICO and Ofcom also will periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the methods outlined in the joint statement to identify any opportunities for improvement. 

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AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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