Ofcom needs to work quickly to implement the Online Safety Bill as it could take years before the public starts to see its benefits, MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have said.

The Online Safety Bill finally passed in September after years of delay from the government. It aims to make the UK “the safest place in the world to be online” by ensuring that online companies do not subject their users to racism, sexual abuse, bullying, fraud and other harmful material often found on the internet.

But Ofcom, which will enforce the new regulations imposed by the bill, has significant work to do in producing the legislation and documentation needed as guidance. Questions also remain over how it will manage public expectations for what the regulatory regime will achieve, the PAC said.

Its inquiry heard that there could be over 100,000 service providers falling within Ofcom’s new scope, most of them small businesses and/or based overseas. Ensuring compliance for the vast majority of providers...