Committee publication · Correspondence · 30 June 2026
Letter from Kate Davies, Group Director, Strategy and Research, Ofcom, regarding media literacy recommendations, 24 June 2026
From: Culture, Media and Sport Committee
Inquiry: The work of Ofcom
Summary
Ofcom informs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of its new Media Literacy Recommendations for online, broadcast and other content services, published under the Online Safety Act 2023. The recommendations are non-enforceable but address service design, user empowerment, partnerships, and evaluation. Ofcom commits to tracking adoption by 2029 and will report progress to Government and Parliament.
Key findings
- Ofcom has published Media Literacy Recommendations covering four areas: service design, during-use features, beyond-service partnerships, and evaluation of outcomes.
- Recommendations apply to online and content services (first two groups) and extend to broadcasters (latter two groups) to enable informed user choice and broader public engagement.
- Recommendations are non-enforceable under the OSA but Ofcom will track adoption and report findings by 2029, with review and potential revision at that point.
- Ofcom expects recommendations to be acted upon and will escalate to Government and Parliament if adoption and policy outcomes are limited.
- Ofcom seeks Committee support to promote recommendations and encourage industry adoption.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Kate Davies (Ofcom Group Director, Strategy and Research), Dame Caroline Dinenage MP (Culture, Media and Sport Committee Chair), Ofcom, Online and broadcast service providers
Notable line
“We are clear in our expectations that these recommendations need to be acted on, and we will be tracking adoption and reporting on it by”
Key Quotes
“Our aim in publishing these recommendations is to improve media literacy outcomes for people across the UK.”
“No single organisation can improve media literacy at a population level on its own. However online and broadcasting services have daily, large-scale reach, which gives them a critical role to play.”
“While the OSA provisions mean that the recommendations are not enforceable we will be working with services to drive adoption.”
“Should we find limited progress towards the intended policy outcomes, we will highlight this to Government and Parliament.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗