Ofcom is exploring the use of automation to fulfil digital protection requirements from the Online Safety Act, in a potential boost for AI content moderation startups.
The British media regulator is charged with implementing the recently established act enforcing online safety, particularly for children.
Ofcom said on Friday it would “signal plans to develop additional proposals on how AI can be used to detect illegal content and harms to children”.
The communications watchdog said it will launch a consultation “later this year” on how automated detection tools could be used to prevent people from seeing harmful content.
Under the Online Safety Act, which became law last October, platforms hosting content are required to take strict measures to block materials such as bullying and content promoting suicide or self-harm.
The exploration of AI as a tool presents an opportunity for the growing market of AI startups in the content moderation game.
Among those is Unitary AI, a London-based startup developing machine learning technology to detect if a photo or video contains harmful content, mimicking human moderation.
The company raised significant cash last year across a £6.7m round in March 2023 and a £12m round in October.
At the time of its most recent round, the company said it was analysing six million videos every day in multiple languages.
Competitor Arwen AI, based in Surrey, similarly uses automated technology within social media to prevent hate speech.
Arwen has developed dozens of algorithms designed to detect various forms of potentially damaging content such as spam, profanity, insults and hate speech.
While automation is a far more scalable approach to content moderation, systems may incorrectly identify content as violating policies, known as false positives.
Read more: Ofcom hires Big Tech staff to enforce Online Safety Act
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