Ofcom apologises for ‘ill-judged’ porn joke job ad

Ofcom has apologised for what it admits was an “ill-judged” employee post about a job which involves monitoring pornographic websites for illegal content and stopping children accessing them.

“Always wanted to work in porn but don’t have the feet for an OnlyFans? Now is your chance”, joked the LinkedIn post by a senior staff member at the media regulator.

Leading children’s rights campaigner, Baroness Kidron, told the BBC the comments treated dealing with porn companies as a “perk”, and “trivialised” the issue of violence against women and girls.

In a statement, Ofcom told the BBC it was “a mistake from a well-intentioned colleague wishing to attract attention to a recruitment post”.

“They have recognised that the post was ill-judged and said sorry,” they said.

“Ofcom takes its role as online safety regulator extremely seriously and we are focused on finding the best people to help us carry out the job.”

Baroness Kidron, a crossbench peer who campaigns for children’s rights online, said she had been forwarded the advert by concerned people “dozens of times.”

She said she responded with a “scream of pain.”

“Ofcom does not understand their role, they are all we have between us and they most powerful companies in the world, we need grown ups who want results that change people’s lives for the better,” she told the BBC.

And Gemma Kelly, head of policy and public affairs at CEASE, was also heavily critical.

“A representative of Ofcom – the organisation responsible for regulating harmful online content – making jokes about an industry which normalises violence against women, monetises sexual assault, and encourages objectification is completely reprehensible,” she said.

Others who work in the charity sector have replied to her, with one person saying the post from an Ofcom member of staff was “grossly offensive” and another calling it “deeply inappropriate and disturbing”.

The BBC asked Ofcom about the accusations – and why other senior staff at the organisation had liked the original post – but received no reply.

The LinkedIn post was made by an Ofcom employee who describes himself as an “Online Safety Supervision Principal”, in which he is “managing a team responsible for engagement with online pornography services”.

“I wanted to hold my hands up and apologise for the tone of the post below,” he wrote in an update to his original LinkedIn post.

“It was poorly judged and I apologise for the offence I’ve caused,” he added.

He says the advertised job involves “engaging with online pornography services” to combat illegal content and restrict access to children.

He adds his team also works to understand existing safety measures and assess how well they protect users.

Ofcom is taking on broad new enforcement powers for pornographic sites and many other digital services as a result of the Online Safety Act, which comes partly into force in 2025.