Ofcom is proposing to add guidance for illegal animal cruelty and human torture content on social media platforms and search services as part of new rules introduced with the Online Safety Act.

The aim is to force tech firms to assess the risk of illegal content on their services, take steps to stop it appearing and act quickly to remove it when they become aware of it.

The Act already outlines a number of ‘priority offences’ that providers have a duty to take action against, but according to the regulator, some animal cruelty and human torture content currently falls outside of the offences listed under the Act.

To close this gap, Ofcom plan to integrate animal cruelty and torture content within the proposals initially made as part of the November 2023 Illegal Harms Consultation, detailing how social media platforms and search services should approach their new duties relating to illegal content.

As part of this guidance, tech companies will be required to offer users tools to give them greater control over the kinds of content they see online. It will become the responsibility of services to police user generated content to a greater degree, with the legal responsibility placed on platforms and search services to weed out illegal content before it can cause harm.

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Plans to enforce transparency reporting by social media firms and search services are already under consultation, which will require tech companies to share data on the safety of their services for users at least once a year.

If adopted, the proliferation of animal cruelty and torture content will join offences such as encouraging serious self-harm, threatening communications, inciting violence and the selling illegal drugs or weapons now illegal under the Online Safety Act.

The consultation closes on Friday 13 September 2024, with plans to publish the final illegal harms codes and guidance in December 2024, following which platforms will have three months to conduct their illegal content risk assessment.