The Pulse
Ofcom Advisory Committee Presses Platforms on AI Election Risks
Ofcom’s Online Information Advisory Committee urged online platforms to work more closely with UK authorities on election threats. Its October 13 report also called for more research into generative AI and democracy.
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Ofcom committee calls for more election research
On October 13, 2026, Ofcom’s Online Information Advisory Committee urged online platforms to cooperate more closely with UK authorities over threats to elections. The committee also called on Ofcom to expand research into emerging risks, particularly generative AI, to strengthen the evidence about how the technology affects democracy. The report says government, online services, law enforcement and regulators need to work together.
The committee’s report does not set new rules for platforms. It advises Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, and points to a gap between the risks surrounding election information and the powers available to address them. According to the report summary, Ofcom has limited authority over misinformation and disinformation under the Online Safety Act.
The committee advises; Ofcom regulates
The Online Information Advisory Committee was established under section 152 of the Online Safety Act 2023. The law assigns it an advisory role: it gives Ofcom advice on how regulated services should handle misinformation and disinformation, on certain transparency powers, and on media literacy. It does not itself issue directions to platforms or decide which individual posts should be removed.
That distinction matters for the report’s call for cooperation. A committee recommendation can inform Ofcom’s work, but it does not create a new legal duty for a platform. The report instead calls for stronger coordination among institutions that hold different responsibilities, while asking the regulator to improve the research behind its approach to AI and elections.
May’s elections exposed limits in the response
The recommendation follows concerns raised by the Electoral Commission after the May 2026 elections. In a report published in September, the commission said its work to detect political deepfakes had highlighted that the UK’s policy and regulatory framework could not always respond quickly enough to misinformation and disinformation. It also said deepfake risks cross electoral regulation, policing, online safety and public communications, rather than fitting within one body’s remit.
The commission called for governments, regulators, social media companies and other digital services to work together. It also urged the UK to strengthen platform responsibilities around election information and update electoral law to reflect manipulated media. Those recommendations came from the commission’s own election work; the Ofcom committee’s report makes a related case for coordination and a better evidence base.
Research, cooperation and the limits of the law
The focus on evidence is significant because the committee asks Ofcom to investigate how generative AI affects democracy, rather than presenting a quantified assessment of its impact. Better research could help the regulator and its partners distinguish between emerging risks and demonstrated effects, and decide where existing rules or operational arrangements fall short. The report summary does not specify a research timetable or name particular platforms.
For voters, the practical stakes are access to reliable election information and confidence in what they see online. The committee’s proposal depends on follow-through from Ofcom and cooperation among public bodies, police and services that control online distribution. What research will Ofcom commission, and will platforms change how they coordinate with UK authorities before the next elections?