Ofcom consultation on online safety - additional safety measures
The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has responded to Ofcom’s consultation on user-to-user interaction under the Online Safety Act (OSA).
The IET commends the progress made already by Ofcom whilst implementing the OSA, while reiterating the urgent need for immersive technologies to be treated as a distinct area of regulatory focus due to the unique risks they pose to children and vulnerable users.
Drawing on the expertise of our members, we outline the challenges of age verification, the prevalence of unsupervised minors in virtual reality (VR) spaces, and the embodied nature of harm in these environments. We call for targeted action to ensure that immersive platforms are safe, transparent, and accountable, and that regulation continues to evolve in step with technological advancement and virtual reality.
Despite its prevalence, virtual reality is still not explicitly addressed and remains a grey area, even though it was defined clearly as content in the OSA.
We’re upgrading our contact centre to make it quicker and easier for you to speak to the right member of our team.
From Thursday, 30 to Friday, 31 October, our phone lines will be temporarily unavailable while we upgrade our systems. For any urgent enquiries during this time, please email membership@theiet.org and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
From Monday, 3 November, we’re moving to one central phone number for all enquiries. This change will make it easier to reach the right team quickly and improve your experience.
Thank you for your patience as we improve how we connect with you.