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Tech companies should prioritise female safety online, says Ofcom

Women are less confident about their online safety than men

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Women are less confident about their online safety than men

The regulator has urged firms to work to make the online world a safer place for women and girls

Ofcom has called for tech companies to take further steps to keep women safe, after a study found that women are more likely to be negatively impacted by internet abuse and feel less able to express an opinion online.

The findings are part of Ofcom's Online Nation research [pdf], which investigated UK citizens' online lives.

The study, which polled over 6,600 adults in the UK, revealed that women aged 18-34 were most likely to report that the time they spend online was adversely influencing their mental health.

Only 42% of the women polled claimed they felt comfortable about speaking freely on the internet.

Ofcom's analysis indicated that, although most people feel the advantages of being online outweigh the risks, women are much less likely than men to agree with the statement (63% vs 71%).

Ofcom's report also includes extensive analysis of the harms people face online. For example, in the past four weeks, women who used the internet were more likely than men to have seen or experienced:

content relating to eating disorders, negative body image, or excessive dieting
misogynistic content that objectifies, demeans, or otherwise depicts women in a bad light
content on suicide or self-harm

Women from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be troubled by their negative online experiences than others, as well as more likely to have been exposed to at least one potential harm.

In the study, just 21% of respondents who had reported content to a social network said it had been deleted as a consequence. Half said the platform took no action on their complaint.

"Too many companies prioritise growth and revenue over user safety and don't actually think about the impact on the front-line user," Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said.

"Let's speak to women and make it easier for them to report things. At the moment people don't trust that if they do report things anything will be done."

Dame Dawes also asked tech giants to ensure they involve female employees in the development of new services and platforms.

She believes the Online Safety Bill, which is part of the Government's plan to make the UK the safest place to go online, will provide Ofcom the authority it needs to hold huge platforms accountable for harmful content.

As the online regulator, Ofcom will ensure that digital firms fulfil their obligations to improve user safety while still advocating the positive aspects of the internet, such as free expression.

The new report also revealed how individuals in the UK spend their time online:

Women use seven of the top 10 social media networks more than men
Pinterest has the highest proportion of female users (66%) of the top 10 social media platforms
Reddit has the highest proportion of male users (61%)
Amazon is the most visited online shopping platform, with nine out of 10 adults who use the internet saying they used the retailer
The next most-used online platforms were eBay and the Apple store

Tech companies should prioritise female safety online, says Ofcom

The regulator has urged firms to work to make the online world a safer place for women and girls

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