Harmful Algorithmic Content Promotion
Harmful content promoted by online platform recommendation systems, requiring government assessment and action.
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Mixed across source types and ranked by classifier confidence plus text match strength.
Committee recommendation
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#30 - Social media algorithms fail to differentiate harmful from harmless content, spreading misinformation.
Advertising is crucial to major social media companies, which depend on recommending engaging content to increase time spent on their platforms and draw attention to adverts. Their recommendation algorithms do not effectively differentiate between harmless and harmful engaging content, which can result in promotion of misleading, damaging, or hateful material. The effects spread through the online ecosystem, helping...
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terms: content, harmful, promotion
Committee recommendation
100match
#9 - Commission independent research into social media algorithms amplifying harmful content with full data access
There is a shortfall in data needed to accurately analyse the scale of the problem and identify policy solutions. In line with our Principle 4, the government should commission a large-scale research project into how far social media recommendation systems spread, amplify or prioritise harmful content. This should be undertaken by a group of credible independent researchers, bringing...
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terms: algorithmic, content, harmful, promotion
Committee recommendation
99match
#16 - Online Safety Act scope insufficient for 'legal but harmful' content and misinformation.
The Online Safety Act will lead to some improvements, but is designed only to protect users from harm that is illegal or affects children. The decision not to include measures related to the algorithmic amplification of “legal but harmful” content, such as misinformation, means that full enforcement of the Act would have made little difference to the online...
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terms: algorithmic, content, harmful
Committee recommendation
95match
#2 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
These harms are not accidental or isolated, but occur because of platform design choices, including algorithmic recommendation systems, infinite scrolling, autoplay and private messaging features, which repeatedly expose children to harmful or exploitative content at a scale which reactive moderation by the companies is not effectively addressing. (Conclusion, Paragraph 7)
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terms: algorithmic, content, harmful
Committee recommendation
95match
#1 - Uphold five core principles for social media regulation to ensure public safety and user control
In the course of this inquiry, we identified five key principles that we believe are crucial for regulation of social media and related technologies: 1) Public safety: Algorithmically accelerated misinformation is a danger that companies and government need to address—the government and platform companies should work together to protect the public from it. 2) Free and safe expression:...
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terms: algorithmic, content, harmful
Committee recommendation
91match
#6 - Social media algorithms amplify harmful content, exposing users, particularly young people, to risks
Internet users are exposed to large volumes of harmful and misleading content which can deceive, damage mental health, normalise extremist views, undermine democracy, and fuel violence. We are concerned by the evidence that recommendation algorithms—integral to the advertisement- and engagement-driven business models of social media companies—play a role in this. Young people are particularly vulnerable to these harms,...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
91match
#2 - Social media business models amplify harmful content, endangering public safety during unrest
We launched this inquiry in the wake of the riots that followed the horrific attack in Southport in 2024. We received overwhelming evidence that online activity, including social media recommendation algorithms amplifying harmful and misleading content, played a key part in driving the unrest and violence. Social media companies’ responses were inconsistent and 52 inadequate, often enabling, if...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
90match
#19 - Introduce duties for platforms to undertake risk assessments on harmful misinformation.
In line with Principle 5, transparency, the government should introduce duties for platforms to undertake risk assessments and reporting requirements on legal but harmful content, such as potentially harmful misinformation, with a focus on the role of recommendation algorithms in its spread. (Recommendation, Paragraph 48)
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
90match
#14 - Concerns regarding disjointed platform approaches and weakened content moderation policies.
We are concerned by disjointed approaches from platforms to false and harmful content; in particular by recent moves from X and Meta to water down their Terms of Service and approach to content moderation. While there are merits to crowd-sourcing models of context provision and fact-checking—as part of a wider policy on misleading and harmful content—these platforms seem...
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terms: algorithmic, content, harmful
Committee recommendation
90match
#11 - Compel social media platforms to embed tools for deprioritising fact-checked misleading content.
Following our Principles 2 and 3, the government should compel social media platforms to embed tools within their systems that identify and algorithmically deprioritise fact-checked misleading content, or content that cites unreliable sources, where it has the potential to cause significant harm. It is vital that these measures do not censor legal free expression, but apply justified and...
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terms: algorithmic, content
Committee recommendation
87match
#31 - Under-regulated digital advertising market incentivises and monetises harmful content, often without advertisers' knowledge.
The global digital advertising market is overcomplicated, opaque and under-regulated, operating through an enormous, automated and inaccessible supply chain. This directly leads to the production, viral spread and monetisation of harmful and deceptive content, often without advertisers’ knowledge. Platforms and advertisers appear to be either unable or unwilling to address this problem. We heard evidence that platforms may...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
83match
#27 - Pass legislation requiring generative AI platforms to conduct risk assessments and implement user safeguards.
To protect citizens from the AI-exacerbated spread of misinformation and harm, the government should pass legislation that covers generative AI platforms, bringing them in line with other online services that pose a high risk of producing or spreading illegal or harmful content. Following the Principles identified by this report, this legislation should require generative AI platforms to: provide...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
83match
#4 - Mandate Ofcom's crisis protocol to hold all online services accountable for misinformation spread
We welcome Ofcom’s consultation on a ‘crisis response protocol’ for companies to follow in response to events such as the 2024 unrest. The protocol should directly address misinformation by including all online services at risk of contributing to the spread of false or harmful information, including large online social media, search and messaging services; those with smaller user...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
82match
#17 - Online Safety Act measures are insufficient to address algorithmic misinformation spread effectively.
It is vital that platforms are held responsible for the algorithmic spread of misleading or deceptive content that can radicalise and harm users. The few measures in the Act that address misinformation fall short. The False Communications offence is vaguely worded and will be difficult to implement; the advisory committee on mis/disinformation has been renamed, suggesting a change...
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terms: algorithmic, content
Committee recommendation
77match
#4 - 2nd Report - Reading for Pleasure
The government must implement in full the remaining recommendations of our response to its consultation on Growing up in the Online World as a first step to tackling the harmful effects of screen time on children. In particular, it must introduce mandatory restrictions on high-risk and addictive design features, such as infinite scrolling, disappearing messages and algorithmic messages...
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terms: algorithmic, harmful
Committee recommendation
77match
#26 - Review Online Safety Act's fitness for purpose in tackling hateful online extremism.
The Government should review whether the existing legislative framework, including the Online Safety Act, is fit for purpose in tackling hateful extremism. The review should specifically consider whether further regulation is required to tackle the posting of and promotion of hateful content, including increased transparency in the use of algorithms and AI and on advertising revenue generation, and...
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terms: content, promotion
PFD report
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Oliver Gorman
The coroner identified a lack of age restrictions and inadequate warnings on certain butane/propane aerosol products, alongside concerns about social media platforms' responsibility for harmful content and the appropriateness of their age restrictions.
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
71match
#15 - Commission independent research into effective methods for platforms to address misinformation.
In line with our Principle 1 of tackling amplified misinformation, the government should compel platforms to put in place minimum standards for addressing the spread of misleading content online. More information is needed on the merits of different approaches to this. The government should commission research into the relative benefits of independent third-party fact-checkers, crowd-sourced context provision, and...
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
70match
#25 - Online Safety Act fails to protect users from synthetic disinformation and harmful experimental features.
The Online Safety Act does not protect users from the commodification of synthetic mis/disinformation, or provide effective transparency for the systems that produce them. It fails to address the issue of tech companies rolling out experimental features that can feed false or harmful information to their enormous audiences, further threatening information integrity online. This has damaging effects on...
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terms: harmful
Committee recommendation
69match
#28 - Require tech companies to cleanse datasets of NCII and source data responsibly.
The private sector has innovated to create AI technology. It does not need to wait for legislation to catch up in order to safeguard individuals from harmful AI-generated content. As a starting point tech companies involved in AI content creation should cleanse their datasets of NCII content and commit to responsible sourcing of data to safeguard those datasets...
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terms: content, harmful
Committee recommendation
69match
#22 - Collaborate with platforms to identify and track disinformation actors and their online spreading techniques.
Foreign interference and disinformation campaigns, with use of technology such as bots and AI, put UK citizens at risk. The possibility that some of the divisive messages and deceptive content spread by users—and amplified by algorithms—last summer were part of such an influence operation is deeply concerning. In order to tackle amplified disinformation, identified by Principle 1, the...
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
69match
#21 - Create an additional regulatory category for 'small but risky' platforms, based on their online harms.
The Online Safety Act does not do enough to address the risks posed by small platforms due to its exclusive focus on size. Ofcom should create an additional category to cover ‘small but risky’ platforms, based on analysis of the role that harmful smaller platforms can play in the online ecosystem, interacting with the recommendation algorithms of large...
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terms: harmful
Committee recommendation
69match
#12 - Mandate online services to give users a 'right to reset' recommendation data.
As per Principle 4, users should have more control over the content that is pushed to them online. Government should mandate all online services with a content recommendation algorithm to give the user a ‘right to reset’, which would delete all data stored by their recommendation algorithm, in the manner that users can clear their cookie history. This...
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
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#8 - Urge government to define social media companies' responsibility as publishers or platforms
Social media companies have often argued that they are not publishers but platforms, abdicating responsibility for the content they put online. We believe that these services, with sophisticated recommendation algorithms that directly amplify and push content to users, are not merely platforms but curators of content. As we have seen, the amplification and spread of this content can...
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
66match
#27 - Ofcom's hateful content investigation scope is too narrow, lacking confidence in consequences.
We welcome Ofcom’s investigation into the adequacy of social media companies’ actions in the removal of hateful content and potential strengthening of the Code of Practice. This work is urgent, yet only one company will be investigated over the next four months and we lack confidence that there will be any significant consequences if failings are found. (Conclusion,...
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terms: content
PFD report
65match
Bradley Trevarthen
The coroner raised concerns regarding the extensive availability of self-harm and suicide-related content online for young people, noting that this material risks normalising such actions and goes beyond appropriate freedom of expression.
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terms: content
PFD report
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Molly Russell
The coroner noted a lack of age verification and age-specific content on online platforms, along with no separation between adult and child parts of platforms. Concerns were also raised about algorithms providing content and adverts, and the absence of parental control or access to material viewed by children.
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terms: content
PFD report
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Frances Thomas
The coroner raised concerns that Department of Education e-security guidelines for schools are outdated and insufficiently robust, lacking regulatory oversight on web filtering software and appropriate blocklists. There is also no consideration in the guidance for advanced monitoring systems to detect age-inappropriate content.
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terms: content
PFD report
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Chloe Macdermott
The coroner identified an online forum that encourages suicide, shares methods, and lacks age restrictions, content moderation, and prevention signposting. Further concerns related to the unregulated online availability and delivery of a specific product to the UK.
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terms: content
PFD report
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Isabella Shere
The coroner identified concerns regarding Quora's hosting of sensitive content accessible to children without age verification. The platform also has features that encourage consumption of such material and insufficient content monitoring against its own policies.
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
61match
#27 - Mandate consent-based offence for deepfake creation, including cultural intimate image abuse.
The Government’s plans to criminalise the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes/NCII, even if they are not shared, are very welcome and worthy of praise. However, the Government must ensure that the offence is consent- based and does not require the determination of any motivation on the part of the perpetrator. Consistent with our recommendations for non-synthetic content, the...
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
60match
#7 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
We recommend that the Government introduces mandatory restrictions on high-risk and addictive design features, such as infinite scrolling, disappearing messages and algorithmic messages for under-18s, with appropriate age-related restrictions enabled by default, rather than relying on voluntary measures or user opt-ins. (Recommendation, Paragraph 15) Impact on schools, teachers and children’s education
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terms: algorithmic
Committee recommendation
59match
#10 - Publish government conclusions on harm promoted by platform recommendation systems.
Based on the research described above, the government should publish conclusions on the level and nature of harm that these platforms promote through their recommendation systems. Following our Principle 3, if significant harm is found, the responsible online services should publish the actions they will take to address these harms. Ofcom should be given the power to serve...
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PFD report
57match
Ben Walmsley
The coroner identified a lack of a mechanism to notify schools when pupils attempted to access blocked content related to self-harm on school computers. Concerns were also raised about whether enhanced monitoring functionality is mandatory for all schools.
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terms: content
PFD report
57match
Joseph Nihill
The coroner identified concerns regarding websites that promote methods of suicide to vulnerable individuals, potentially undermining treatment and legitimising self-harm. There were also concerns about the availability and promotion of lethal substances for ending one's life.
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terms: promotion
Committee recommendation
57match
#23 - 2nd Report - Zero sum game: How the UK can reframe the energy transition
In response to this Report, the Government should set out its assessment of the merits of granting Ofcom further legislative powers and resources to more effectively regulate misleading information online regarding the energy transition, especially on the “credibility laundering” of information. The Government should also explore the merits of tasking Ofcom with producing speedy, interim decisions on complaints,...
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Committee recommendation
57match
#16 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
The Committee recommends that the Government introduces a statutory ban on the use of social media platforms for children under the age of 16. It is time to apply the brakes and prioritise children’s safety. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33)
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Committee recommendation
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#14 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
We recommend that the Government uses the powers available to it to impose clear, enforceable duties on platforms to prioritise child safety by design, backed by meaningful sanctions for non-compliance. (Recommendation, Paragraph 28) 17 The case for restricting social media use
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Committee recommendation
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#3 - Online Safety Act fails to adequately tackle misinformation and pervasive online harm
The Online Safety Act was not designed to tackle misinformation—we heard that even if it had been fully implemented, it would have made little difference to the spread of misleading content that drove violence and hate in summer 2024. Therefore, the Act fails to keep UK citizens safe from a core and pervasive online harm. (Conclusion, Paragraph 18)
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terms: content
Committee recommendation
57match
#25 - Online platforms facilitate religious hatred with inadequate regulation and consequences.
At present people can stir up religious hatred online in the knowledge that their comments are unlikely to be removed and, except in the most extreme cases, are unlikely to face any consequences for their actions. While some individuals have been prosecuted for posting hate speech, the platforms that facilitate it have faced no consequences, if anything they...
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Committee recommendation
56match
#31 - 4th Report - BBC Royal Charter Review
We recommend that the government legislate for a prominence regime specifically for trustworthy news content, including that from the BBC, on social media. We note that the government is currently consulting on a definition of “trustworthy news”. The government needs to ensure that any approach to defining trustworthy news providers is transparent and independent, and free from political...
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terms: content
PFD report
53match
James Forryan
The coroner raised concerns about the easy accessibility of websites and forums that openly promote suicide methods, noting insufficient regulation and enforcement action against such platforms.
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PFD report
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Bethany Langton
Unchecked online availability of lethal Sodium Nitrite, a lack of awareness among suppliers about its misuse, and the presence of online guidance on its use for suicide without adequate removal systems.
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PFD report
53match
Rhiannon Williams
The coroner expressed concern about the risk to life posed by online suicide forums and social media platforms that provide information on how to take one's own life and advice on misleading others.
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Committee recommendation
53match
#15 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
There is a compelling case for an outright statutory ban on social media access for under-16s in order to reset the relationship children and families have with digital devices and social media, and to arrest the current harm. The evidence demonstrates that current regulatory and voluntary approaches have failed to prevent widespread exposure of children to serious harm,...
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Committee recommendation
53match
#29 - Criminalise use of nudification apps as synthetic NCII and hold platforms accountable.
There is no legitimate reason whatsoever for the use or existence of nudification apps. The Government should ensure that the use of such an app is considered creation of synthetic NCII and therefore also a criminal offence and Ofcom should investigate the sites that offer this functionality. The Government should make sure that search engines and platforms that...
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Committee recommendation
53match
#29 - Mandate generative AI platforms to automatically label AI-generated media with metadata and watermarks.
To effectively tackle amplified misinformation as per Principle 1, the government should work with relevant experts and platforms to develop technology that automatically detects AI-generated media, meeting mis/ disinformation at its source. It should mandate all generative AI platforms, and platforms that employ generative AI technologies, to automatically label AI-generated media with metadata and visible watermarks that cannot...
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Committee recommendation
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#18 - Submit annual report to Parliament on the state of online misinformation trends.
The broad scale—and serious impact—of misinformation online requires greater transparency and accountability from the government. In line with our Principle 1, the government should submit an annual report to Parliament on the state of misinformation online, tracking trends and issues from the year, and setting out successes and failures in addressing them. (Recommendation, Paragraph 47)
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Committee recommendation
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#36 - 1st Report - The future of news
We welcome efforts to improve trust in the information environment, but we caution against a counter-mis/disinformation strategy that relies too heavily on measures in the Online Safety Act, or technical fixes like watermarks, labelling and algorithmic tweaking. Some of these are doubtless welcome, but such solutions are unlikely to tackle the root causes of supply and demand. They...
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terms: algorithmic
Committee recommendation
52match
#18 - 1st Report - Growing up in the online world: The Education Committee’s response to the Government’s...
We recommend that the Government introduces a risk-based and age- appropriate regulatory framework that applies consistently across social media, gaming and hybrid platforms, private messaging sites and AI chatbots, including sites and platforms widely used by children. This would have clear benefits in terms of future-proofing the approach to safeguarding children online. (Recommendation, Paragraph 35)
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