Ofcom to create tech hub and up to 150 new jobs in Manchester

26 March 2021, 11:04

Ofcom office sign
Media stock. Picture: PA

The regulator said jobs in the digital, cybersecurity and technology sector would be created.

Communications regulator Ofcom has announced plans to open a new technology hub in Manchester – creating up to 150 new jobs by 2025.

It comes as the organisation prepares to also become the regulator for internet companies under the Government’s proposed Online Safety Bill.

Ofcom said it wanted to draw on Manchester’s reputation as a centre for technology and innovation as it sought new recruits to help prepare for the new online regulation.

The new hub is expected to be operational by the summer, with the new roles created to offer digital and technical expertise.

“We’re delighted to be preparing for a new digital and technology hub in Manchester,” Ofcom chief executive Melanie Dawes said.

“We want to tap into the huge array of tech, digital and data talent in the city as we prepare for pioneering new work around online safety and security.”

Late last year, the Government confirmed it intended to appoint Ofcom as the regulator for online harms in the UK as part of the Online Safety Bill, which will introduce tighter regulation for tech and internet companies around harmful content, with penalties for those who breach a duty of care to their users.

The bill is expected before Parliament by the end of the year.

Ofcom said it was also expanding its operations in Cardiff, Belfast and Edinburgh as part of efforts to offer a range of roles across the remit of its work.

By Press Association

More Technology News

See more More Technology News

A laptop

Millions of older people being cut off by lack of basic internet skills – Age UK

A computer screen

Leading AI figures awarded honours

AI warning

Essays written with ChatGPT feature repetition of words and ideas – study

A broadband router

Big four broadband firms beaten by smaller rivals in latest Which? survey

A person pressing on the Tik Tok logo on the screen of a smartphone

TikTok to launch online election centres to counter misinformation

A person using a laptop

Up to eight million UK jobs at risk from AI, report says

Smartphone showing apps

One in six adolescents have experienced cyberbullying, global study finds

An Uber Eats driver

Uber Eats driver wins payout over discriminatory facial recognition checks

Rishi Sunak visits Cumbria

Sunak says UK ‘more robust’ on China than most allies

Chinese President state visit – Preparations

Minister calls China ‘security threat’ after UK and US blame Beijing for hacking

China

UK and US accuse China of ‘malicious’ global cyber attacks

A hand on a laptop

Tougher action needed to combat copycat banking websites, says Which?

Dowden

Dowden guarantees UK elections will be safe from Chinese cyber attacks

A woman’s hand pressing a key of a laptop keyboard

Cyber security agency says China behind ‘malicious’ cyber attacks on UK

A young girl uses the TikTok app on a smartphone

TikTok Youth Council holds first meetings on better online safety for teenagers

Margrethe Vestager

EU opens competition investigations into Apple, Google and Meta