It’s unlikely to work out well:
The firms will be required to provide Ofcom with the name of a senior director who will be liable for criminal prosecution and jail sentences of up to two years if they fail to provide Ofcom with the information it needs to pursue an investigation.
Perhaps it might be OK right here, with social media companies. Perhaps it won’t be. But any longer term application of this – and this is indeed slippery slope – will lead to terrible problems. The entire point of having a corporation is that it is the corporation which is liable, not the individual.
Think on this for a moment. Someone at Facebook, in California, will have to be liable for Ofcom breaches with up to 2 years in jail. Everyone else follows suit – Italy, France, Indonesia, Iran and on and on. Difficult to get senior directors now, isn’t it?