Incoming Ofcom chair vows to take on ‘tech bros’

Key points

• Ofcom’s incoming chair has vowed to take on the “tech bros”, as he conceded there was now a perception the regulator had been complacent and slow over concerns about online safety.
• Ian Cheshire, the former Channel 4 chair who has secured the job overseeing the technology and media regulator, also told MPs he had personal concerns about the impact of social media on under-16s.
• During a hearing before the science, innovation and technology select committee, Cheshire was asked directly about whether he would take on the powerful tech companies that dominate the online world.
• “Yes,” he said, adding: “It is the area I want to probe and understand, because I think there is clearly a perception that it has been either complacent or slow or both.” However, he suggested Ofcom needed to be clear about what it could and could not achieve in terms of policing tech platforms.
• He said...