12 Accepted

Mandate online services to give users a 'right to reset' recommendation data.

Conclusion
As per Principle 4, users should have more control over the content that is pushed to them online. Government should mandate all online services with a content recommendation algorithm to give the user a ‘right to reset’, which would delete all data stored by their recommendation algorithm, in the manner that users can clear their cookie history. This option should be displayed prominently on the platform’s main feed or homepage. (Recommendation, Paragraph 32)
Government Response Summary
The government states that while there is no specific 'right to reset' legislation, existing powers and protections under the Online Safety Act (OSA) and UK GDPR, such as the right to erasure and user control features, collectively achieve the committee's objective.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government Accepted
The government is committed to ensuring that individuals have a say over the content they are presented by recommendation algorithms and in how their personal data is processed. While no single piece of UK legislation provides a specific ‘right to reset’ as recommended by the Committee, the government believes that there are existing powers and protections that collectively deliver a proportionate approach to the Committee’s objective. Whilst the OSA does not seek to restrict adult users’ access to legal content, it will require regulated services to have clear and accessible Terms of Service (ToS). Category 1 services are also required to offer adult users optional and proportionate “easy to access” features to limit engagement with certain types of legal content, designed to empower adult users to have more autonomy over their online experience. Ofcom is the independent regulator of the OSA and can take robust enforcement action against those failing to fulfil their duties. The OSA will deliver greater platform accountability and trust through its transparency framework, with Ofcom requiring categorised services to publish annual transparency reports, which can include information about the platform’s algorithms. Ofcom also has robust information gathering powers to understand how companies are fulfilling their duties and observe how algorithms function. In addition, UK data protection legislation (UK GDPR) provides individuals with rights such as the right to object to the processing of their personal data for direct marketing purposes, and the ‘right to erasure’ for personal data used in content recommendation. When taken together, the OSA and UK GDPR provide citizens with significant influence over how recommendation algorithms affect them.
Addressee Bodies
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
Timeline
Recommendation age 0.9 yr
Report published 11 Jul 2025