Ofcom needs more powers to remove misleading posts, says watchdog

Ofcom needs more powers to remove misleading posts, says watchdog 2 hours ago Share Save Tom Gerken Technology reporter Share Save Getty Images Media regulator Ofcom needs more powers to remove posts such as those which encouraged the 2024 summer riots, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary says. Sir Andy Cooke said it took too long to remove misinformation on social media, allowing it to spread further and have a greater impact. He said the Online Safety Act - despite being only recently passed - did not give the regulator the tools it needed to contain such content. "Ofcom needs to have the proper capacity and capability to get posts taken down quickly if it's going to be effective," he said. "If you don't get them down quickly, they spread virally." The Online Safety Act currently had "little or no bearing" on scenarios such as last summer's violent disorder, he added. But Ofcom told the BBC it was not its role under the act to "assess individual pieces of content or take down spe ... Read full article.