Online Safety Act 2023

Under the Act, a “user-to-user service” is any internet platform where content is generated or uploaded by one user and can be accessed or experienced by another user. This material includes written messages, photos, videos, visual images, music, etc.

The Online Safety Act 2023 mandates online platforms to:

• Detect and remove illegal content (for instance, hate speech, sexual abuse or terrorism-related material). 
• Build proper reporting systems (for parents and children to report issues online).
• Conduct risk assessments (including publicly sharing data on the risks the platforms pose to children). 
• Block children from accessing legal but harmful content (for example, media that promotes eating disorders, provides instructions for self-harm, or involves bullying).
• Restrict children from accessing age-restricted content (for example, pornography).
• Implement measures to verify users’ ages (like third-party age verification systems along with enforcing age limits).

Ofcom is the independent regulator responsible for the Act. It’s responsible for establishing guidelines while outlining the actions online platforms should take to meet their obligations. Ofcom will also assess and ensure that providers comply with the Online Safety Act.

In general, Ofcom regulates the essential communication services in the UK, including mobile services, as well as television and radio broadcasting services.

The Act’s criminal offenses were defined on January 31, 2024. New charges were added, such as:

• Cyberflashing
• Epilepsy trolling
• Intimate image abuse
• Threatening communications
• Encouraging or assisting serious self-harm
• Sending false information to cause harm

Online platforms that don’t follow the Act can face fines from Ofcom, reaching up to £18 million or 10% of the establishment’s annual revenue. This means that for the largest platforms, non-compliance fines can exceed billions of pounds.