Protective defaults for social media platforms
Published: 13 July 2026
A randomised controlled trial testing retention of defaults for children and adults
Online Safety: Register of categorised services and list of emerging Category 1 services
Published: 30 June 2026
Last updated: 10 July 2026
The published register of categorised services sets out which services are categorised and are therefore subject to additional duties under the Act.
Online safety and data protection
Published: 1 May 2024
Last updated: 25 March 2026
How Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) intend to collaborate in regulating online services.
AI chatbots and online regulation – what you need to know
Published: 18 December 2025
AI chatbots have been in the news a lot recently. They are a new and increasingly prevalent tool that some people use for work, study, research, entertainment or simply for conversation.
Boosting Children's Safety Online: User Controls
Published: 24 April 2025
Last updated: 12 November 2025
This page contains details of an online randomised control trial to test different ways to encourage children to choose to use content controls to restrict exposure to harmful content during the sign-up process of a mock social media platform.
Unlocking choice: giving users more control over the content they see online
Published: 27 October 2025
This research examines how the presentation of sensitive content settings influence user choices.
Ofcom issues update on Online Safety Act investigations
Published: 13 October 2025
Ofcom has today provided an update on our enforcement activity under the Online Safety Act.
Ofcom’s access to services regulated under the Online Safety Act
Published: 21 January 2025
Last updated: 29 July 2025
This page outlines that we’ll sometimes access regulated online services as part of our work to make online services safer for the people who use them.
Behavioural Audit of Online Services
Published: 26 June 2025
Last updated: 17 July 2025
In this research project, we partnered with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) to conduct a comprehensive behavioural audit of popular social media and video-sharing platforms (VSPs). This audit, carried out between December 2024 and January 2025, systematically mapped online design practices and assessed their impact on user behaviour and outcomes, focusing on four core areas of interest: 1) sign-up process, 2) features and functionalities affecting time spent online, 3) negative sentiment tools, and 4) reporting.
User ID verification: What difference does a ‘blue tick’ make?
Published: 10 July 2025
Many online platforms use verification badges—like the classic ‘blue tick’—but what influence do they have on user behaviour? In this study, we explored how people engage with content from verified vs unverified users.