Ofcom has been accused of “trivialising” violence against women and girls after a senior member of staff jokingly promoted a job supervising the porn industry.
“Always wanted to work in porn but don’t have the feet for an OnlyFans? Now is your chance!” says a post on LinkedIn, which is drawing attention to a “Supervision Associate” post being advertised by the media regulator.
Campaigners have called the post “reprehensible” and say Ofcom is treating dealing with pornographic sites as a “perk” and failing to “understand the impact of porn on children.”
In a statement, Ofcom told the BBC it was “a mistake from a well-intentioned colleague wishing to attract attention to a recruitment post”.
“They have recognised that the post was ill-judged and said sorry,” they said.
“Ofcom takes its role as online safety regulator extremely seriously and we are focused on finding the best people to help us carry out the job.”
‘Scream of pain’
The post – which was liked by a number of senior Ofcom staff – has been sharply criticised by Baroness Kidron, a crossbench peer who campaigns for children’s rights online.
She sent she’d been forwarded the advert dozens of times and responded with a “scream of pain.”
“The advertisement trivialises the issue of violence against women and girls”, she told the BBC.
“Ofcom does not understand their role, they are all we have between us and they most powerful companies in the world, we need grown ups who want results that change people’s lives for the better.”
Her concerns have been echoed by Gemma Kelly, head of policy and public affairs at CEASE, a charity which seeks to combat sexual exploitation in the UK.
“A representative of Ofcom – the organisation responsible for regulating harmful online content – making jokes about an industry which normalises violence against women, monetises sexual assault, and encourages objectification is completely reprehensible,” she wrote.
Others who work in the charity sector have replied to her, with one person saying the post from an Ofcom member of staff was “grossly offensive” and another calling it “deeply 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 hands up and apologise for the tone of the post below,” he wrote in an update to his original LinkedIn post.
“It was poorly judged and I apologise for the offence I’ve caused,” he added.
He says the advertised job involves “engaging with online pornography services” to combat illegal content and restrict access to children.
He adds his team also works to understand existing safety measures and assess how well they protect users.
Ofcom is taking on broad new enforcement powers for pornographic sites and many other digital services as a result of the Online Safety Act, which comes partly into force in 2025.