Ofcom criticized for ‘scandalous’ porn LinkedIn post

A charity has criticized a senior Ofcom staff member’s “scandalous” LinkedIn post promoting a job overseeing the porn industry.

She has been accused of “trivializing” violence against women and girls for the post, which read: “Always wanted to work in porn but don’t have the legs for OnlyFans? Now’s your chance”.

CEASE, which seeks to fight sexual exploitation in the UK, said Ofcom was treating the handling of porn sites as a “profit” and failing to “understand the impact of porn on children”.

In a statement, Ofcom told the BBC, “This was the mistake of a well-intentioned colleague wishing to draw attention to a recruitment post”.

“He acknowledges that the post was misjudged and has expressed regret,” he said.

“Ofcom takes its role as the online safety regulator extremely seriously and we are focused on finding the best people to help us get the job done.”

The post – which was liked by a number of senior Ofcom staff – has been sharply criticized by crossbench peer Baroness Kidron, who campaigns online for children’s rights.

She said she had been forwarded this ad dozens of times and responded with a “scream of pain.”

“The ad trivialises the issue of violence against women and girls,” she told the BBC.

“Ofcom doesn’t understand their role, they are between us and the most powerful companies in the world, we need adults who want results that change people’s lives for the better.”

And Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs at CEASEwas also highly critical.

She said, “A representative of Ofcom – the organization responsible for regulating harmful online content – ​​making jokes about an industry that normalizes violence against women, monetizes sexual harassment and encourages objectification , is completely condemnable.”

Other people working in the charity sector have responded to them, with one person saying an Ofcom staff member’s post was “extremely offensive” and another describing it as “extremely inappropriate and disturbing”.

The LinkedIn post was made by an Ofcom employee who describes himself as an “online safety supervision principal”, in which he is “managing a team responsible for engagement with online pornography services”.

“I wanted to hold my hand up and apologize for the tone of the post below,” he wrote in an update to his original LinkedIn post.

“It was poorly rated and I apologize for the offense I caused,” he said.

He says the advertised job involves “connecting with online pornography services” to deal with illegal material and restrict access to children.

He says his team also works to understand existing security measures and assess how well they protect users.

Ofcom is taking sweeping new enforcement powers to porn sites and many other digital services as a result of the Online Safety Act, which Will be partially implemented in 2025,