Ofcom at risk of losing public trust over online harms, says Liz Kendall

Thu, 20 Nov 2025

Technology secretary fears digital frontier may be outpacing regulator, with AI chatbots a particular concern

The UK’s internet regulator, Ofcom, is at risk of losing public trust if it fails to use its powers to tackle online harms, the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, has said.

Kendall last week told Ofcom’s chief executive, Melanie Dawes, she was deeply disappointed at the pace of the regulator’s enforcement of parts of the Online Safety Act, which is intended to protect the public from harms caused by a wide range of online platforms, from social media to pornography websites.