Giving users more choice, control and trust in their online experience

About this response form

We are consulting on a draft Code of Practice and guidance documents to help Category 1 services comply with their additional duties relating to user empowerment, user identity verification, news publisher content, journalistic content, content of democratic importance, freedom of expression and privacy, terms of service and complaints. This is a public consultation. Please respond by 5pm Friday 2 October.

We will publish all non-confidential responses on our website. Where you have indicated that your response includes confidential material including personal details, we will contact you if we intend to publish this. You may indicate whether your responses are confidential by ticking the box "tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question". A second text box will appear which you can then input your response to. Please note if you submit a confidential response, we may be in contact in the future to ascertain whether your response remains confidential, and why. As such, please carefully consider the nature of your response.

To understand how Ofcom may use your data, please refer to our General Privacy Statement.

Please answer the questions in the form. If you choose not to answer a question, please leave the box blank. If you would like to upload additional evidence, there will be a prompt at the end to do so.

If you would like to include supporting information or files, charts, tables or other data as well as completing the online form, please email it to cat1additionalduties@Ofcom.org.uk, as an attachment in Microsoft Word format, together with your contact details so that we can contact you about your response. Please make clear in the email, which online form submission your supporting information relates to. The easiest way to do this is to include the same contact details in the online response form and covering email.

About this response form

We are consulting on a draft Code of Practice and guidance documents to help Category 1 services comply with their additional duties relating to user empowerment, user identity verification, news publisher content, journalistic content, content of democratic importance, freedom of expression and privacy, terms of service and complaints. This is a public consultation. Please respond by 5pm Friday 2 October.

We will publish all non-confidential responses on our website. Where you have indicated that your response includes confidential material including personal details, we will contact you if we intend to publish this. You may indicate whether your responses are confidential by ticking the box "tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question". A second text box will appear which you can then input your response to. Please note if you submit a confidential response, we may be in contact in the future to ascertain whether your response remains confidential, and why. As such, please carefully consider the nature of your response.

To understand how Ofcom may use your data, please refer to our General Privacy Statement.

Please answer the questions in the form. If you choose not to answer a question, please leave the box blank. If you would like to upload additional evidence, there will be a prompt at the end to do so.

If you would like to include supporting information or files, charts, tables or other data as well as completing the online form, please email it to cat1additionalduties@Ofcom.org.uk, as an attachment in Microsoft Word format, together with your contact details so that we can contact you about your response. Please make clear in the email, which online form submission your supporting information relates to. The easiest way to do this is to include the same contact details in the online response form and covering email.

Tick this box to confirm you are happy to proceed with the consultation

Your details

Are you responding to the consultation on behalf of an organisation, as a private individual or anonymously?

on behalf of an organisation

individual

Tick this box if you would like any part of your identity to remain confidential

Please tell us how you came across this consultation

Select your topics

Please select the sections of the consultation you want to respond to. A full list of consultation questions can be found at Annex 5.

Please select the sections of the consultation you want to respond to

Introduction and approach

User empowerment guidance documents

User empowerment Code measures

User Identity Verification Guidance

News Publisher Content Guidance

Journalistic content and content of democratic importance Code measures, and Indicative Factors Guidance

Freedom of Expression and Privacy Impact Assessment Guidance

Terms of service and complaints Code measures

Terms of Service Guidance

Introduction and approach

Q1. Do you have any comments on our Equality Impact Assessment and Welsh Language Assessment at Annex 1?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q2. Do you have any comments on our overarching approach to implementing Category 1 services’ additional duties, including the guiding principles for our approach, and framework for the Additional Duties Code?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q3. Do you have any comments on our combined impact assessment at Annex 6?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Guidance on Relevant Content

Q4. Do you agree with our proposed approach to explain the content categories the same way as the categories in the Guidance for Content Harmful to Children? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q5. Do you have any further comments on the draft Guidance on Relevant Content, published as part of this consultation (including our assessment on the causes and impacts of relevant content, specificity of examples, and inclusion of contextual information)?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q6. Do you have any evidence to support our draft Guidance on Relevant Content?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

User Empowerment Assessment Guidance

Q7. Do you agree with our proposed approach for the draft User Empowerment Assessment Guidance? In particular, do you agree with our proposal to align our guidance with the Illegal Content and Children’s Risk Assessment Guidance? Please provide any supporting reasoning and evidence for your comments.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q8. Do you have ay further comments on the draft User Empowerment Assessment Guidance, published as part of this consultation?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Default control feature settings and accessibility

Q9. Do you agree with the proposed easy to access and defaults measure? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Content-specific measures

Q10. Do you agree with the inclusion of these four proposed content-specific measures:

(1) content determination
(2) not encountering
(3) alerting
(4) reporting

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Q10. Do you agree with the inclusion of these four proposed content-specific measures:

(1) content determination
(2) not encountering
(3) alerting
(4) reporting

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

(1) content determination

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(2) not encountering

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(3) alerting

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(4) reporting

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q11. Do you agree that, for the purposes of these content-specific measures, providers should apply the measures to the following three categories of relevant content: (i) suicide and self-harm content (ii) eating disorder content, and (iii) hate and abuse content? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q12. Do you agree with the flexibility we are offering providers over the technical actions in how they meet the not encountering and alerting measures? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Content-agnostic measures

Q13. Do you agree with the inclusion of these two proposed measures:

(1) blocking/muting
(2) disabling comments

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Q13. Do you agree with the inclusion of these two proposed measures:

(1) blocking/muting
(2) disabling comments

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

(1) blocking/muting

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(2) disabling comments

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Filter tool measure

Q14. Do you agree with our approach to the proposed filter tool measure? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q15. Do you agree with the proposed objectives that providers should meet in determining which functionalities to apply the filter tool to? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

User Identity Verification Guidance

Q16. Do you agree with our proposed approach to the draft User Identity Verification Guidance? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views. In particular:

a) Do you agree with our definitions relating to identity verification? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

b) Do you agree that the identity verification offered by providers should be consistent with the proposed four principles? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q17. Do you have any further comments on the draft User Identity Verification Guidance, published as part of this consultation?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

News Publisher Content Guidance

Q18. Do you agree with our proposed approach to the draft News Publisher Guidance? Please provide your reasoning and any supporting evidence. In particular:

a) Do you agree with the proposed technical approaches for identifying recognised news publishers and news publisher content? Are you aware of alternative methods that have not been explored in the draft guidance?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

b) Are you aware of any technical means of identifying news publisher content when it is uploaded to or shared on a service by users who are not themselves recognised news publishers?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

c) Are there any additional factors you consider providers should take into account when setting or applying relevant timeframes?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q19. Do you have any further comments on the draft News Publisher Content Guidance, published as part of this consultation?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Journalistic content and content of democratic importance Code measures

Q20. Do you agree the inclusion of these seven proposed measures:

(1) internal content policies
(2) user sanctions policies
(3) training for individuals working in content moderation
(4) materials for volunteers in content moderation
(5) compliance training for operational staff
(6) dedicated and expedited complaints for journalistic content
(7) review of upheld complaints for content of democratic importance

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Q20. Do you agree the inclusion of these seven proposed measures:

(1) internal content policies
(2) user sanctions policies
(3) training for individuals working in content moderation
(4) materials for volunteers in content moderation
(5) compliance training for operational staff
(6) dedicated and expedited complaints for journalistic content
(7) review of upheld complaints for content of democratic importance

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

(1) internal content policies

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(2) user sanctions policies

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(3) training for individuals working in content moderation

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(4) materials for volunteers in content moderation

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(5) compliance training for operational staff

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(6) dedicated and expedited complaints for journalistic content

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(7) review of upheld complaints for content for democratic importance

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Indicative Factors Guidance

Q21. Do you agree with our approach to the draft Indicative Factors Guidance? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Freedom of Expression and Privacy Impact Assessment Guidance

Q22. Do you agree with our approach to the draft Freedom of Expression and Privacy Impact Assessment Guidance? Do you have any suggestions as to what further information might usefully be included in the guidance? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Terms of service Code measures

Q23. Do you agree with the inclusion of these two proposed measures on:

(1) substance
(2) clear and accessible terms of service

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Q23. Do you agree with the inclusion of these two proposed measures on:

(1) substance
(2) clear and accessible terms of service

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

(1) substance

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(2) clear and accessible terms of service

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Complaints Code measures

Q24. Do you agree with the inclusion of these three proposed measures on:

(1) enabling complaints
(2) easy to find, access and use complaints procedures
(3) appropriate action for complaints.

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Q24. Do you agree with the inclusion of these three proposed measures on:

(1) enabling complaints
(2) easy to find, access and use complaints procedures
(3) appropriate action for complaints.

Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

(1) enabling complaints

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(2) easy to find, access and use complaints procedures

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

(3) appropriate action for complaints

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Terms of Service Guidance

Q25. Do you agree with our approach to the draft Terms of Service Guidance? Please provide supporting reasoning and evidence for your views.

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Q26. Do you have any further comments on the draft Terms of Service Guidance, published as part of this consultation?

Tick this box if you wish to submit confidential information relevant to this question.

Feedback

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Giving users more choice, control and trust in their online experience

Additional Duties for Category 1 services

About this response form

About this response form

Your details

Select your topics

Introduction and approach

Guidance on Relevant Content

User Empowerment Assessment Guidance

Default control feature settings and accessibility

Content-specific measures

Content-agnostic measures

Filter tool measure

User Identity Verification Guidance

News Publisher Content Guidance

Journalistic content and content of democratic importance Code measures

Indicative Factors Guidance

Freedom of Expression and Privacy Impact Assessment Guidance

Terms of service Code measures

Complaints Code measures

Terms of Service Guidance

Feedback