The chief executive of Sky has warned that society faces a “tsunami of harms” on the internet in a stinging attack on online giants such as Google and their lack of regulation.

Jeremy Darroch said there are “serious questions over the veracity, safety and legality” of online content and called for the European Union to lead the world by introducing new rules that make the internet safer and more responsible.

Darroch was speaking at a conference in Tallinn, Estonia, just days after major brands including Mars, Lidl and Adidas pulled their adverts from Google and its subsidiary YouTube after predatory comments were found below videos of children.

“Online safety is one of the biggest issues of our time and it is about time we asked the question: why is there the least regulation where there is the most danger for viewers?” Darroch said.

“Our society and our industry face a tsunami of harms online: from fake news to extremism, from theft of identity to theft of content. Everyone is struggling to navigate a path through a largely lawless internet landscape.

“I know, as one of Europe’s largest brand advertisers, that I cannot be sure whether our family-friendly brand is appearing alongside the vilest illegal content online. If a company the size of Sky cannot hope to be certain, what chance has an individual, especially a minor, of keeping safe?”

Earlier this month, Katharine Viner, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, said that Facebook had become the most powerful publisher in history by replacing editors with algorithms and that online debates have become “mobbed with bullies, misogynists and racists”.

Sky’s future as an independent company is uncertain while the Competition and Market Authority investigates 21st Century Fox’s proposed £11.7bn deal to buy the 61% of the company it does not already own.

Rupert Murdoch and his sons James and Lachlan, who control Fox, have said that one of the reasons the deal should be allowed to go through is that internet companies such as Google and Facebook have reshaped the media landscape and are now richer and more powerful than traditional news providers.

Darroch, who has led Sky for almost a decade, said the competition between broadcasters and the internet companies was not on a level playing field.

“We produce at great cost locally based, highly regulated news services with a strong reputation for the fairness and quality of their journalism. Compliance with rules is not a burden but a stamp of quality and trust. Transparency over who produces and funds our news is a fundamental part of an open society and European traditions,” Darroch said.

“Contrast this with the global online platforms with their clickbait, bots and fake news. Where there is no regulation, no accountability and little transparency.

“Not so many years ago, internet companies were small and pretty un-influential. Today they are some of the largest companies on the planet with a reach and scale of financial resources far exceeding that of previous media and communications companies. We are regulated because of our impact on society, yet their impact on society today is arguably much greater.”