Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day.
As people communicate seamlessly online and offline, we now need to invest our efforts into making digital communications work for everyone
Ofcom wants to understand how adults and children in the UK use media.
Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom's job is to make online services safer for the people who use them. We make sure companies have effective systems in place to protect users from harm.
Ofcom is committed to a thriving telecoms sector, where companies can compete fairly and customers benefit from a broad range of services.
Ofcom's job is to make sure there is a universal postal service.
You can't see or feel radio spectrum, but we use it every day. Our job is to authorise and manage the use of spectrum in the UK.
We make sure that broadcasters provide quality TV, radio and on-demand programmes that appeal to diverse audiences. We also have rules in place to protect viewers and listeners from harm.
How to make the most of communications services as a small business.
How to make the most of the services you use, and deal with problems.
Proposals we are consulting on and decisions we've made.
How we make sure companies follow our rules, to protect customers and promote competition.
Rules, guidance and other information for the industries we regulate.
If you're looking to use certain radio equipment, or broadcast on TV or radio, you'll need a licence from Ofcom.
Our latest news, features, views and information about our work.
Evidence we gather to inform our work as a regulator.
Showing 1 - 27 of 86
Published: 5 February 2025
In this Economics Discussion Paper, we use NLP to classify the topic of each news article read by a sample of people who had their internet use tracked over one month in 2021.
Published: 29 January 2024
Last updated: 11 December 2024
Ofcom's Making Sense of Media bulletin summarises media literacy activities by a range of organisations in the UK and overseas.
Published: 19 December 2023
Last updated: 29 November 2024
We are looking at the state of local media in the UK, including how well it meets audiences' changing needs and expectations in an increasingly online world.
Published: 28 November 2023
Last updated: 28 November 2024
Online Nation is an annual report that looks at what people are doing online, how they are served by online content providers and platforms, and their attitudes to and experiences of using the internet.
Ofcom has commissioned research to understand people's experiences of using, and attitudes towards using video-sharing platforms (VSP).
Published: 27 November 2024
This page provides the report, data, questionnaire and technical report from our quantitative research exploring mis and disinformation, carried out online from 27th June to 2nd July 2024 by YouGov, using respondents from YouGov’s online panel.
Published: 16 February 2024
Last updated: 21 November 2024
The Online Experiences Tracker is a quantitative tracking survey that examines people's attitudes to, and experiences of using online services.
Published: 14 March 2024
Last updated: 13 November 2024
These discussion papers explore future technology trends and their implications for media literacy.
Published: 12 November 2024
Social media is a significant aspect of daily life for most of us. Almost all adult internet users use some form of online communication platform.
Published: 7 October 2024
This document details our progress since we published our last annual plan in April 2023. We are proud of all we have achieved over the last 18 months across a range of disciplines including policy, research, evaluation, commissioning activities for communities and working with platforms.
Published: 29 April 2024
Last updated: 7 October 2024
Media literacy has been an important part of Ofcom’s role since it was established in 2003 when the Communications Act directed Ofcom to research and promote media literacy across the UK. This publication marks a significant milestone as Ofcom’s first public articulation of a multi-year media literacy strategy in 20 years.
Published: 18 September 2024
We wanted to find out if behavioural techniques could be used to increase the number of users accessing online terms and conditions (T&Cs). And does accessing T&Cs actually make a difference to how people behave online?
Published: 17 September 2024
This paper discusses how to understand user choices, preferences and welfare in an online context.
Published: 20 July 2023
Last updated: 10 September 2024
Ofcom’s latest research into UK adults’ news consumption across television, radio, print, social media and other websites or apps.
Published: 9 September 2024
In December 2022, Ofcom commissioned 13 organisations to test and evaluate different approaches to improving media literacy skills among three cohort groups: children and young people; older adults, and; disabled people and people with learning disabilities. This report summarises the main challenges and lessons learned in terms of evaluating media literacy interventions.
PDF file, 1.91 MB
Published: 31 July 2024
Ofcom’s annual Media Nations report is a research report for industry, policymakers, academics and consumers. Our main objectives are to capture evolving consumer behaviours and key trends in the media sector, and to set out how audiences are served in the UK.
Published: 30 July 2024
This is a discussion paper by Ofcom’s Behavioural Insight Hub that presents research aimed at understanding the user relationships with social media T&Cs, specifically Community Guidelines.
Last updated: 21 May 2024
What good media literacy 'by design' looks like for social media, search, video-sharing and gaming services.
PDF file, 626.27 KB
Published: 20 May 2024
Published: 27 September 2023
Last updated: 19 April 2024
Our research includes findings relating to parents’ views about their children’s media use, and the ways that parents seek to – or decide not to – monitor or limit use of different types of media.
Published: 19 April 2024
This report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 3-17.
Published: 29 March 2023
This report looks at media use, attitudes and understanding among children and young people aged 3-17. It also includes findings on parents’ views about their children’s media use, and how parents of children and young people aged 3-17 monitor and manage their children’s use.
Published: 25 March 2024
This research examines how online intermediaries, especially social media, can influence today's news landscape.
Published: 15 March 2024
This research report explores how highly media literate children aged 8-12 navigate their online worlds.