@ofcom.bsky.social Chair job spec: a particular focus is #onlinesafety Successful candidate (according to @financialtimes.com): no relevant experience. Hard to see the logic, esp when #DSIT SofS has spent months berating the regulator over #onlinesafetyact enforcement www.ft.com/content/bdcc...

And the House of Lords agreed: Baroness Kidron's amendment passed and now goes to the Commons. 👇🏼

Tonight, the documentary, Molly vs. The Machines will be shown at 9pm on Channel 4. It tells the heartbreaking story of Molly Russell who tragically took her own life aged just 14 after viewing harmful content online. Molly’s story, as told by her family and friends, is not an isolated one. 1/

Our initial response to the Government's consultation on children's #onlinesafety, which is due to be published later this morning. More to follow once we've seen the detail. 👉🏼 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/res...

In 2016, 1000s of AI researchers and business leaders signed this open letter calling for a ban on lethal autonomous weapons. futureoflife.org/open-letter/... Worth having a little scroll through some of the names highlighted in the top 100.

Wild that the person who did so much to derail and delay *her own government* from passing the #onlinesafetybill back in 2022, adding a further year's delay before it became law, is now accusing the current government of "dragging its heels" on children's #onlinesafety. #onlinesafetyact

Overseas tycoons such as Elon Musk would be barred from giving substantial donations to UK political parties under new legislation to block companies making gifts if they do not have British owners or make sufficient revenue in the country www.ft.com/content/f4ed...

Radcliffe should remember we immigrants and children of immigrants are here because of British colonisation and make a huge contribution. He moved to Monaco to avoid £4bn tax. His club Man U owes everything to migrant players and migrant supporters. He’s an embarrassment to the club and game.

If you love cats, or are wondering if you could, have a read of this thread. Little furry tyrants who are also extremely cuddly and sweet

💯 this from @nickmacpherson.bsky.social

Someone should build a tool so you can give the big global elite meetups an "Epstein Score". Munich Security Conference next week...

I’m curious what government agencies are doing to support the staff they’ve tasked with running their accounts on X, who now risk seeing abusive materials and CSAM in the course of their work. (I previously headed up social for Dep Int Trade, if I still was I would refuse to make my team do this)

@ofcom.bsky.social has today published an "update" on its investigation into #Grok and the #ICO has announced it's opening one of its own. Here's our response on why both regulators need to up their game and why gaps in the #onlinesafetyact must be filled. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/osa...

This.👌🏻 youtube.com/watch?v=5Wd1...

Fantastic piece by @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social:

there's a lot in this piece but the Mandelson email about angling for some kind of job at JP Morgan because 'i do not want to live by salary alone' just exemplifies everything people hate about politicians, the City, and revolving doors between the two www.ft.com/content/91e8...

Mate, the whole point of vetting is to determine if they are lying. Your explanation just makes the situation worse!

Social media really has ruined Commons scrutiny in that nobody hunts in a pack anymore, it's just 'would the minister like to repeat his statement but for *my* Facebook clip' these days.

🆕 Today we're publishing a code for improved #onlinesafety for election candidates, developed with experts at @demos-uk.bsky.social @counterhate.com @isdglobal.org @jocoxfoundation.bsky.social @wfd.org @fawcettsociety.bsky.social @fullfact.org & #ElectHer 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/imp...

and no I haven't put the Mandelson-Epstein-Reinaldo scoop on twitter we journalists *can* make Bluesky the place to break news

Men, more able than women to judge truthfulness AND fight geese yougov.co.uk/society/arti...

Rare RT of myself, because there is a delightful thread of cats (plus the odd canine interloper) in response to this and I'm sure your timeline could do with some wholesome pet pics.

This week, an X user created an AI video of me being chloroformed and prepared for rape. Victims are told it's not real and they're getting offended for no reason. But nudification tools are weapons of sexual assault, and the harm they cause is real 👇 jessasato.substack.com/p/ai-nudific...

🚨 Lord Nash won the vote on his #socialmedia amendment in the Lords last night - read the transcript here, including Baroness Kidron on #safetybydesign & support from Lord Clement-Jones & Viscount Colville for our proposals to strengthen the #onlinesafetyact 👇🏻 hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-0...

Well, etc. #onlinesafetyact

Well said, Baroness Kidron in @houseoflords.parliament.uk #socialmedia debate tonight. #onlinesafetyact www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...?

right now there is a a really sophisticated, heartfelt, careful debate taking place in the House of Lords about restrictions on teenagers' social media use a real contrast to the baying bear pit of PMQs which is most people's impression of Parliament

Well. Who'd have thought it? The Government's attempts to stave off a defeat in the Lords with a rushed announcement of a consultation on a #socialmedia ban - a consultation that isn't actually going to be ready to launch for a number of weeks ... haven't worked. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

"We believe the most efficient and effective way to stop the tech companies continuing to harm our children - and many others - is to strengthen and enforce the existing #onlinesafetyact." Our response to the Government's #socialmedia consultation today.👇🏻 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/str...

Spot on.

I regret to inform you that we are back to 2022 levels of "world-leading" Government #onlinesafety comms - three appearances here, prefacing the #onlinesafetyact, curriculum reforms and #AI safety standards.

This figure (and the full article) tells you a lot about the grip the tech sector and its lobbyists have on UK government thinking and just how hard it is for civil society to get its voice heard. #onlinesafetyact 👇🏻 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

that’s not very free speech-y

One of the most astounding things about this government is their failure to grasp the primary lesson from the last one was so obviously "Don't mess about with Comms all the time, just do stuff that will probably work".

It will not surprise you to learn that Toby Youngs 'Free Speech Union' has obtained a High Court injunction banning the publication of a list of its donors open.substack.com/pub/democrac...

No surprise to learn X is still permitting users to post these images generated by Grok despite claiming it had taken action. Enough is enough. @ofcom.bsky.social MUST use its powers to shut this down www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

"Evidence based policy making"

It was a privilege to be invited to the preview screening of "Molly Vs the Machines" last night. It's a brilliant, powerful film - and a tough watch on a number of levels. Look out for it: it'll be released in early March and on Channel 4 soon after.

Minister of State Alex Norris tells the BBC he won't personally come off X because it's important for communicating with voters. None of his tweets for the last month has more than 1000 views.

Today asks "is it arbitrary to crack down on just this one" - Grok + intimate images This is unlawful content being facilitated and coproduced by a major platform with significant reach (6-7 million a day, up to 19m a month). Is there a similarly egregious case with as much reach? If so, sct?

Why we won't be using X anymore ⬇️

Government is developing a more realistic view of X's reach than last week: up to 5 million people use it as a significant news source. (About a million 2-3% say it is their main source). It had 19m users a month, 7 million a day, using it for an average of 6 minutes/day May 2025. But falling fast

@ofcom.bsky.social has launched an investigation into X. What happens next? Here's our expert legal adviser, Prof Lorna Woods OBE, on exactly that question. #onlinesafetyact www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...

💯

Given everything going on with X and Grok, this seems like a frankly bizarre time to propose a social media ban for under 16s. The wonderful thing about government is that you can intervene much further up the chain. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

Wild that the Conservatives - who took *seven years* to get the #onlinesafetyact into law - are this morning telling us all we've "sleepwalked" into a social media crisis amongst children. #r4today

Brilliant. Also: no Ministerial departments tells its own story.

It's great to see Kendall calling on "all platforms operating in the UK to abide by @ofcom.bsky.social's new guidance on tackling #vawg online" and that, if they don't, she is "prepared to go further". But a) they won't (it's not enforceable); and b) she could "go further" immediately. 1/

Unlike its members this group never gets old go.bsky.app/B5X2Tsg

Dame Caroline Dinenage tells the BBC that "there are doubts as to whether the #onlinesafetyact actually has the power to regulate functionality." It does. But @ofcom.bsky.social chose not to use it - writing a set of weak codes and promising further iterations idc. 1/ www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...