Ofcom targets Big Tech with new Category 1 safety mandates

This initiates the third major phase of the Online Safety Act, shifting the regulatory burden from content removal to mandatory product features. By requiring optional identity verification and unverified-user filters, Ofcom is forcing a shift in how social and video platforms manage interaction between anonymous and verified accounts. For the streaming ecosystem, this sets a precedent for how algorithmic recommendation and user identity must be balanced against safety duties. Stakeholders should monitor the final implementation of identity verification principles—relevance, reliability, inclusivity, and clarity—as these will likely inform future European and global content governance standards. The consultation period closing on October 2, 2026, is the critical window for technical feasibility feedback.

The publication of the Category 1 register on July 10, 2026, followed a series of delays, including a legal challenge by the Wikimedia Foundation that was resolved in August 2025. Per Ofcom, the delay allowed the regulator to refine categorisation thresholds through a specific representation process in early 2026, ensuring that only services meeting the strict secondary legislation criteria were captured. In parallel with the safety duties, Ofcom proposed 40 separate measures to combat fraudulent advertising. Per FF News (July 2026), these rules could subject non-compliant Big Tech firms to fines reaching 10% of their annual global revenue to address the £200 million lost annually to UK scams.

Simultaneous to these B2B-impacting rules, Ofcom has intensified its enforcement of child safety standards. In June 2026, the regulator opened specific investigations into Bit Hive and Telegram regarding age-assurance failings and the presence of child sexual abuse material. Per Wiggin (May 2026), additional regulatory pressures are expected to mount this summer as Ofcom prepares to publish a statutory report on the effectiveness of age-verification technologies across dating and social media sectors. The cumulative effect of these mandates forces platforms to integrate complex age-gating and identity-layering technologies into their core user experience by early 2027.