New Ofcom boss Ian Cheshire’s in-tray will be full – but one issue will dominate

Implementation of the Online Safety Act has just got going, leaving ex-chair of Channel 4 with a huge task on his hands

Ian Cheshire’s Ofcom intray is big. It is available online under the regulator’s plan for 2026/27 and covers an array of industries: telecoms; broadband; the postal service; media and the online world.

It is the latter that it going to dominate his tenure. Ofcom oversees the Online Safety Act, the legislation that regulates social media in the UK. Much is expected of the act from internet safety campaigners, and a bit less from freedom of speech advocates, which leaves Cheshire in a difficult place.