Ofcom has announced that it will introduce further amendments to its Illegal Content Codes of Practice (Codes) requiring certain service providers to have a crisis response protocol in place to prevent illegal content going viral during a period of crisis.

As we previously commented upon here, Ofcom consulted last year on proposed additional safety measures to strengthen its Codes. Whilst decisions on many of the proposed measures will not be made until later this year, Ofcom has confirmed that it will not wait to go ahead with its proposals in relation to crisis response measures, given the significant risks involved in online harms escalating at pace during such periods, including the sharing of illegal content, and using platforms to incite racial or religious hatred, or inciting violence.

Under the new rules, service providers of a particular size and risk category will be required to prepare and apply an internal protocol for identifying and responding to a crisis (defined by Ofcom as “an extraordinary situation in which there is a serious threat to public safety in the UK, which is highly likely to have resulted from a significant increase in relevant content or to have caused or cause a significant increase in relevant content”.

Crisis protocols should include, among other things:

• Indicators that the provider will consider in determining whether a crisis is occurring or is likely to occur (such as information from law enforcement, or an increase in the volume of complaints or content flagged by content moderation processes) together with details on how such indicators will be monitored and reviewed;
• Details of a crisis response team intended to respond quickly to events, setting out how it would be deployed at the relevant time;
• Systems and processes to mitigate and manage the risks of a significant uptick in particular content during the crisis, as well as the risks of the service itself being used to commit or facilitate the commission of crimes.

In addition to having a protocol in place, services will also be expected to conduct and record a ‘post-crisis analysis’, setting out key decisions that were made and whether the protocol remains effective. Certain larger services will also be required to have a dedicated communication channel in place by which law enforcement can contact them during the crisis.

The amended Codes will now proceed through the relevant parliamentary process before coming into force.

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