Contribution
My Lords, as the Online Safety Act sets out, the Secretary of State must make these regulations under Sections 169(3) and 170(1) of the Act. They enable the super-complaints regime to operate by establishing the eligibility criteria that entities must meet to submit a super-complaint, as well as the procedural matters relating to Ofcom’s assessment of super-complaints.
Super-complaints are an integral part of the Act’s complaints handling, reporting, and redress mechanisms. They provide a means for eligible entities, including civil society groups with expertise in online safety matters, to raise systemic issues about the features or conduct of one or more regulated services with Ofcom, the Act’s independent regulator.
Super-complaints cannot be made by individuals, nor can they be made about individual pieces of content. The Act establishes, under Section 169, the scope of issues that super-complaints can address. This includes where the features and/or conduct of regulated services may be causing significant harm to, significantly adversely affecting the freedom of expression of, or otherwise adversely impacting users, particular groups or the public. We expect super-complaints to typically be about cross-platform, systemic issues. However, a complaint may cover a single service if the complaint is particularly important or impacts a large number of users or members of the public.
The SI sets out several eligibility criteria that an entity must meet to be able to submit a complaint to Ofcom. Entities must: represent the interests of users of regulated services, particular groups, or members of the public; have a composition, governance and accountability arrangements that mean it can be relied on to act independently from regulated services, although funding, or representation in the entity’s governance from platforms, is allowed; contribute to public discussions on online safety matters as an expert; and be capable of being relied upon to have due regard to any guidance published by Ofcom. These criteria aim to ensure a wide range of entities are eligible while safeguarding the integrity of the process and reducing the risk of vexatious complaints.
In addition to the eligibility criteria, this SI also sets out the process and timeline for assessing super-complaints. Ofcom must assess the would-be complainant’s evidence against the eligibility criteria and determine whether an entity is eligible within 30 days. Ofcom must then inform an entity whether they are eligible or not and explain why. The time for assessing eligibility reduces to 15 days where entities have been found to be eligible within the past five years. In such circumstances, an entity must submit information to show that it is still an expert contributing significantly to public discussion on online safety. Eligible entities must also present current, objective and relevant evidence to support their view that one of the grounds for a complaint under the Act is met.
When assessing the admissibility of the complaint and the substance of the complaint itself, Ofcom must typically respond 90 days following the eligibility determination. This means that, as standard, the entire super-complaints process will conclude within 120 days, or 105 days where there is retained eligibility status. Ofcom may however stop the clock in certain circumstances, such as if additional information is required from the entity and the complaint cannot be progressed without it. But Ofcom may only stop the clock by the amount of time it takes to receive the requested information. Where Ofcom has determined that an entity is eligible, it must consider the complaint and evaluate the evidence presented to it. At the end of the process it must publish a response, including its determination on the matter. This may include what further action, if any, it anticipates.
In developing these regulations, the Government have consulted Ofcom and there has been a public consultation. We have listened closely to the views of stakeholders and, where possible, made changes to the policy consulted on. These changes are set out in further detail in the Government’s policy response published in June this year. In tandem with this SI being laid, a round table was also held with key civil society groups to set out the changes and our response to the concerns raised during the consultation process. These changes include lowering the bar for eligibility to enable new expert organisations to make complaints and removing the requirement to pre-notify Ofcom ahead of submitting a complaint.
The online world is complicated and ever-changing. As the Government, our aim is to remain agile and keep pace with emerging online harms. These regulations have been drafted to do just that, by ensuring Ofcom is made aware of emerging technologies, market operators and subsequent harms. I beg to move.