Online harms affecting men and boys: The case for official Ofcom guidance

The Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys has over the last year made the case for Ofcom to issue tech guidance for online harms affecting young men and boys. We have engaged policymakers and academics on this – and recently wrote a commentary on the overarching issue plus and a commentary from experts in the field.

 Others such as the Association of Male Health and Wellbeing have called for the same outcome. More recently, attention raised by documentaries such as the documentary Inside the Manosphere by Louis Theroux of the harms some young men and boys face online has given new impetus and urgency to the argument that Ofcom need to provide specific guidance on how to keep young men and boys safe online.

Our full Policy Briefing is available via this link: Briefing - Online harms affecting men and boys: The case for official Ofcom guidance

Ofcom, as mandated by the Online Safety Act (2023), is required to produce specific guidance for platforms to assess risk and to protect women and girls from online harms. This welcome and much needed guidance was produced by Ofcom in November 2025 after a lengthy consultation and titled “A safer life online for women and girls.”

Similar guidance for men and boys is needed (“A safer life online for men and boys”). On the one hand men and boys are exposed to similar types of online harmful content to women and girls. But there are also clear differences. And even when there are similar types - the impact, framing and the actual content is likely to be different. These risks are also much more known now than when the Act was introduced.

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