Children’s charities, free speech advocates and other groups could, for the first time, raise online safety and freedom of expression concerns directly to Ofcom through a “super-complaint” under a proposal unveiled by the government.

Under the newly legislated Online Safety Act, social media companies have been given new duties to protect children, enforce the promises they make to users, and remove illegal content, or they will face huge fines from Ofcom.

Individuals can report harmful and illegal content to social media platforms, and it is their responsibility to tackle this within the law.

The super-complaints process is designed to help Ofcom stay on top of systemic harmful trends and emerging threats by letting organisations, such as charities and consumer groups, raise new concerns as soon as they emerge.

In a consultation published today, the government is seeking views from expert groups to help define who can make super-complaints, the conditions and format of a super-complaint, and expectations on how Ofcom should respond to each complaint.

For example, a super-complaint could notify Ofcom of a new social media feature used on multiple services that subjects children to harmful content, such as violent or pornographic images, or flag that platforms are consistently failing to take down illegal content they have a duty to remove.

Similarly, a campaign group may raise that a social media platform’s content moderation systems are consistently removing legal content that their terms of service do not prohibit, undermining freedom of expression on the platform.

The detail of how these super-complains are set to work will be informed by the consultation set to take place on 16 November, which will ask for views on the process and how it can be managed swiftly and easily.

Organisations that will be allowed to raise super-complaints will meet the criteria established in this consultation, ensuring that the regulator is only made aware of legitimate, considered complaints, allowing it to deal with said complaints in a timely and effective manner, and establishing how Ofcom deals with those complaints.

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Super-complaints may allow Ofcom to update Codes of Practice or investigate if particular services are complying with the new law. If found to be non-compliant, companies could face fines that reach billions of pounds.

Similar super-complaints processes already exist in in other sectors, like the Competition and Markets Authority.

“Protecting children and protecting free speech are key pillars of the UK’s groundbreaking new online safety laws. Campaigners’ voices have helped lay the foundations, and we want to continue hearing from them as we build a safer life online,” Gill Whitehead, Ofcom’s Online Safety Group Director, said.

“We’ve assembled a world-class a team so we can keep a close eye on issues as they emerge, and we’ve already set out our first blueprint for what tech firms need to do to tackle illegal harms. But we won’t be doing this alone, and we’re looking forward to working with a broad coalition of experts.”

The super-complaint consultation follows publication of Ofcom’s own major consultation last week, which sought to establish how tech firms will protect their users from illegal harms online.