Understanding the Use and Impact of Recommender Systems by Online Services.

Ofcom has a requirement for a research project to investigate the use and impact of recommender systems by online services. We are seeking to collect evidence on how recommender systems function at a technical level, where and how they are used in practice, the risks they present to users, and how these risks can be mitigated. While we are interested in how the use and design of recommender systems can increase user exposure to harmful content of all kinds, our priority focus for this work is illegal content. This includes material relating to the offences listed in the Online Safety Bill, such as Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (CSEA) offences, terrorism offences, and a range of other offences including fraud and financial offences, buying and selling of weapons and drugs, and hatred and disorder offences. This type of illegal content will be the focus of the first Codes of Practice on which we plan to consult in the spring of 2023.