Consultation: Illegal harms: user controls

Ofcom is consulting on amending our Illegal Content Codes of Practice under the Online Safety Act to expand the application of the blocking and muting user account (ICU J1) and disabling comments (ICU J2) measures. The proposals would bring providers of certain smaller user-to-user services that are likely to be accessed by children into scope of these measures where they have relevant risks and functionalities.

In our December 2024 Illegal Harms Statement and Illegal Content Codes of Practice (Illegal Content Codes), we recommended user control measures, specifically blocking and muting user accounts and disabling comments, for large user-to-user service providers with relevant functionalities that identified the risk of certain illegal harms.

In the statement, we noted our intention to reconsider the case for extending these measures to smaller service providers, given we had proposed that similar measures apply to smaller service providers in the Protection of Children Codes of Practice.

Enabling children to block or mute other users and disable comments can help them reduce the risk of encountering illegal content including grooming; encouraging or assisting suicide (or attempted suicide); hate; harassment, stalking, threats, and abuse. We also consider blocking and muting user accounts can reduce exposure to coercive and controlling behaviour.

This consultation sets out our consideration of the available evidence in totality, including the responses to our November 2023 Consultation on Protecting People from Illegal Harms Online and our May 2024 Consultation on Protecting Children from Harms. In the light of this, and the decisions announced in the Protection of Children Statement in Volume 4, Section 18 on the user support measures for children, we are proposing to recommend the measures in the Illegal Content Codes also apply to providers of certain smaller services that are likely to be accessed by children.

Responding to this consultation

Please submit responses using the consultation response form no later than 5pm 22 July 2025.