Ofcom – with the support and engagement of the academics, platforms and interest groups represented on our external working group – has created a suite of Best Practice Design Principles for Media Literacy (PDF, 1.2 MB). These principles are to help platforms to:
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- become accountable for making media literacy a priority and increase transparency surrounding the development and impact of media literacy interventions;
- ensure the development of timely media literacy interventions that put user needs at the centre of the design process; and
- monitor and evaluate media literacy interventions on an ongoing basis.
From November 2023 to January 2024 we sought views on how to improve these principles and have been considering the range of feedback received to iterate and improve the proposed Best-Practice Principles for Media Literacy by Design.
Together with Ofcom’s Behavioural Insight Hub and the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), we also conducted research (PDF, 1.4 MB) to build evidence on on-platform interventions. We explored prompts to encourage people to make an active choice about the content they see.
Online services pledge to prioritise media literacy
Please see here our October 2024 announcement on services pledging to adopt Ofcom’s best practice principles for promoting media literacy on their platforms.
As part of the pledge, the four services submitted examples of how they are already implementing media literacy by design on their services, and areas they would like to focus on in the future (linked below). The examples submitted provide a benchmark against which future progress can be kept under review, and represents a public commitment to ongoing, accountable action.
May 2025 updates from online services that have pledged to adopt Ofcom’s best practice principles for promoting media literacy on their platforms.
In October 2024 we announced that Google Search, The LEGO Group, Pinterest and Roblox voluntarily signed up to adopt Ofcom’s Best Practice Principles for Media Literacy by Design, which have been developed in collaboration with expert representatives from industry, civil society and the academic community.
In brief, the four services pledged to adopt three common principles:
- become accountable for making media literacy a priority on-platform, and increase transparency surrounding what works;
- develop user-centric design and timely ways to put user needs at the centre of the design process; and
- monitor and evaluate media literacy activities on an ongoing basis.
By signing up to adopt the principles, these services committed to improving and adapting their approach to align more closely with best practice.
Today, approximately 6 months on from the initial announcement, we are publishing services’ self-assessments of their progress in line with their commitments. These assessments include examples that services consider as demonstrating their commitments. We welcome the ongoing consideration these services are giving to the media literacy of their users, and will work with them including by sharing the latest findings and research from the ‘Making Sense of Media’ programme Ofcom conducts – see here our 3 year strategy. We encourage these services to continue making progress and will continue to monitor their efforts, while encouraging other online service providers to pledge to adopt the Best Practice Principles to demonstrate their commitments to their users’ media literacy.