Mr Zuckerberg and executives at tech companies including X, TikTok and Snap were accused of having “blood on their hands” during a heated US Congressional hearing last week.
Responding to concerns that Ofcom would struggle to hold Silicon Valley’s big tech companies to account, Lord Grade said the regulator would disrupt criminals by hitting their finances or blocking them altogether. He insisted that it could be done.
But he added that businesses would also be encouraged to follow the rules for fear of losing both advertisers and users.
He cited the example of Substack, a newsletter service that recently saw a wave of high-profile writers leave the company for refusing to remove Nazi content. He has since deleted multiple newsletters.
Lord Grade said: “If online services do not prioritize important safety areas such as moderation, users and content creators can vote with their mouse.”
The Ofcom boss, who was Channel 4’s chief executive for more than a decade, also called on advertisers to ensure their campaigns do not appear alongside harmful content and root out fraudulent advertising.
Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the Advertising Association, said: “We welcome Lord Grade’s constructive speech on Ofcom’s new responsibilities under the Online Safety Act and his call for the advertising industry to focus on responsible growth ahead of potential harm and fraud. “Trust and safety are our top priorities.” ”