Research from the communications regulator Ofcom has found the complexity of Video-Sharing Platforms’ terms and conditions often requires considerable time and advanced reading skills. It says complexity renders them unsuitable for a wide range of users, including children.
Regulating Video-Sharing Platforms looks at the accessibility of the terms and conditions set by six platforms: BitChute, Brand New Tube, OnlyFans, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitch. The report delves into how these platforms communicate content guidelines and penalties for rule-breaking, along with the training provided to content moderators.
Among the platforms, OnlyFans has the longest terms of service, comprising nearly 16,000 words and taking over an hour for adult users to read. Twitch follows with 27 minutes (6,678 words), Snapchat with 20 minutes (4,903 words), TikTok with 19 minutes (4,773 words), Brand New Tube with 10 minutes (2,492 words), and BitChute with 8 minutes (2,017 words).
Ofcom evaluated the ‘reading ease’ score for each platform’s terms of service. Except for one, all were deemed “difficult to read and best understood by high-school graduates.”
Among these, Twitch’s terms were the most challenging to comprehend. TikTok stood out as the sole platform with terms that could likely be understood by users without a high school or university education, although still surpassing the comprehension level of the youngest users on the platform.
Snapchat, TikTok, and BitChute rely on “click-wrap” agreements, wherein the acceptance of the Terms of Service is implicit in the sign-up process. Users are neither prompted nor encouraged to access these terms, making it easier to agree without reading them.
Community guidelines, which typically articulate usage rules in a more user-friendly language, are shorter than terms of service, taking between four and 11 minutes to read. Snapchat boasts the shortest community guidelines, yet the language complexity results in the poorest reading ease score, potentially requiring a university-level education to understand.
The regulator says it intends to continue collaborating with platforms to drive improvements in line with ongoing engagement. The regulation of VSPs is crucial to shaping a broader online safety regulatory approach under the anticipated Online Safety Bill, which is set to receive Royal Assent later this year.
