The Global Network Initiative (GNI) appreciates the opportunity to provide feedback on Ofcom’s draft transparency reporting guidance, which covers the process that Ofcom will adopt to decide what regulated online platforms and service providers must include in their mandatory transparency reports, as well as how information from these reports will be used to inform Ofcom’s own transparency report.
GNI values Ofcom’s pursuit of transparency reporting within its broader online safety regime to improve safety governance and empower UK users to make more informed choices about the services that they use. Nevertheless, we are concerned about the extent of ambiguity surrounding the types of services that will fall under the categories of 1, 2A, and 2B services. The categorization of services that will undergo mandatory transparency reporting under the OSA is essential to effectively assess the transparency regime that Ofcom will oversee.
The guidance provided in this consultation states that Ofcom will take into consideration, among other things, the type, functionality, number of users, proportion of users who are children, and the capacity of the service provider in respect of each transparency notice it issues. While this is a good initial set of conditions, it is also important for Ofcom to consider not only user numbers or revenue figures as relevant criteria for distinguishing services but also the types of risks involved and the services’ ability to mitigate them. This includes the acknowledgment of the purpose and business model of a service, such as those created for not-for-profit or academic purposes, depending on which, a service may receive a high volume of visitors without generating the same type of revenue as commercial services. In addition, it is important to acknowledge that the use of encryption to support users’ privacy and security can impact a service’s ability to access and take action regarding user generated content. Companies should not be punished directly or indirectly for deploying encryption to protect their users rights.
In addition, it is not clear from the consultation material whether Ofcom will disclose the nature and scope of information notices to providers, including any requests made via priority escalation channels. We encourage Ofcom to model transparency in its own regulatory efforts and ensure that as much information as possible about such notices is made public.
In addition, given the size, scope, and complexity of the regulation, we encourage Ofcom to try and harmonize its transparency guidelines as much as possible with other national/regional level regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the European Union (EU) to avoid conflicting standards and excessive compliance costs for lower risk services.
GNI has been a steadfast supporter of proportional and necessary transparency reporting frameworks that help enhance user empowerment, information integrity, and corporate accountability on human rights. For over fifteen years, GNI has been encouraging technology companies to improve transparency around actions that impact user privacy and freedom of expression. GNI also believes that there are opportunities for improved harmonization with increasingly well established international reporting standards, such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, Global Reporting Initiative, and International Sustainability Standards Board.