Sky, TalkTalk and Virgin Media would back the creation of a regulator to set out a framework for internet companies in the UK, the House of Lords Communications Committee was told.

The three major UK internet service providers provided evidence as part of the House of Lords’ ongoing inquiry into internet regulation.

The companies’ policy heads pushed for a new regulator, or the expansion of the responsibility of a current regulator, to set transparency standards for content moderation and to better equip children using the internet amid safety concerns.

This would mean creating a completely new regulator, or granting further powers to existing non-governmental organisations that regulate behaviour associated with the internet. The current regulation is fragmented, with the Information Commissioner’s Office taking responsibility for data protection and privacy; Ofcom regulating TV content from on-demand programme services; and the Advertising Standards Authority is responsible for online advertising standards.

Virgin Media’s Daniel Butler said that he “would not be opposed to a new statutory framework” which he would see as a “partial response to the societal problem”.