Dr. Shaikh is an Online Safety Principal at Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator. Following the passage of the Online Safety Bill, Ofcom will have powers to require online services to minimise the presence and spread of illegal and harmful content online. He is responsible for leading and delivering Ofcom’s regulatory approach to online hate, terrorism and other illegal harms.
He was previously Senior Advisor to the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, where he drafted the ‘Effective Guidelines on Hate Speech, Social Media and Minorities’ and led on engagement with social media companies. He was also Co-Director of Averroes, a think tank focusing on religious hatred, counter-extremism and integration. His expert insights have been relied on by the late Jo Cox MP, Home Affairs Committee, Government Departments, Law Commission and international human rights mechanisms at the UN and Council of Europe. He also advised the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on conflict prevention and incitement to religious hatred as well litigating landmark cases at international and regional human rights mechanisms.
He holds a PhD from SOAS on the ‘Protection of Religious Minorities under International Law and Islamic Law’ and an LLM from Essex University in International Human Rights Law.
At the Summit
The catalytic power of this Summit in bringing together those who are devoting their lives to pushing back and working to confront, understand and work towards solutions around hate in our society is a noble and difficult task. The Summit not only energized those who attended but led to connecting the dots in a global network of those doing this work. The stories of the victims of hate were painful to witness but their courage in coming forward was inspirational. Those who attended left energized with the hope that by working together solutions can be forged.
