As the digital world becomes a significant part of daily life for individuals of all ages, governments are taking decisive steps to establish regulations that ensure safer online experiences, especially for young users.
The increasing prevalence of harmful content and the potential risks posed to children and teens have placed online safety high on legislative agendas worldwide.
Different nations have taken varied approaches to address this issue. In the United States, state-specific laws have led to a fragmented framework of online safety regulations.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has chosen a centralised approach, culminating in the landmark Online Safety Act (OSA). This comprehensive legislation seeks to safeguard children and teens from exposure to harmful material on the internet.
This article delves into the critical aspects of the Online Safety Act, including its purpose, the scope of businesses it governs, and the actionable steps companies can adopt to align with its mandates.
Table of Contents
What is the Online Safety Act (OSA)?
The Online Safety Act is a landmark UK law aimed at creating a safer digital environment for both children and adults. By targeting a wide range of digital platforms, including social media sites, messaging apps, and search engines, the Act introduces measures to safeguard users against harmful and illegal content.
Key Aspects of the Online Safety Act (OSA)
The Online Safety Act (OSA) establishes a robust framework aimed at safeguarding both adults and children from harmful and illegal content online.
It introduces key responsibilities for digital service providers to ensure platforms are safer and more transparent, while simultaneously upholding the right to freedom of expression.
1. Protecting Adults and Children from Illegal Content
The OSA mandates that all regulated platforms conduct risk assessments to determine the likelihood of illegal content appearing on their platforms. Illegal content, as defined under Section 59, includes activities related to terrorism, child exploitation, and other criminal acts. Platforms must:
a. Take proactive measures to remove illegal content.
b. Implement processes to minimise the risk of harmful material causing harm to users.
2. Shielding Children from Harmful Content
To protect young users, services accessible to children must undertake child-specific risk assessments. These evaluations help identify potential exposure to harmful material, defined under Section 234 as content causing physical or psychological harm. Platforms are required to:
a. Use tools like age verification to prevent access to harmful or age-inappropriate content.
b. Implement safeguards to ensure children are protected from grooming, cyberbullying, and content promoting self-harm.
3. Empowering Adults with Control
The OSA enables adults to take charge of their online experiences, particularly on Category 1 services. Platforms must allow users to:
a. Filter out harmful but legal content they do not wish to view.
b. Block interactions with unverified users.
c. Be clearly informed of these options to ensure accessibility and usability.
4. Transparency Reporting Requirements
Service providers are obligated to submit annual transparency reports to the regulator, Ofcom. These reports must detail key information, such as:
a. Instances where illegal or harmful content was detected and managed.
b. Steps taken to mitigate risks and enforce safety measures. This accountability ensures that platforms operate with greater openness regarding their safety practices.
5. Balancing Safety and Freedom of Expression
While the OSA enforces stringent safety measures, it does not aim to restrict legal speech. Under Sections 22 and 33, service providers must also protect freedom of expression. Striking this balance can be challenging, as platforms must differentiate between harmful content and legitimate opinions. For instance:
a. Content deemed defamatory may also represent honest views protected under free speech laws.
b. Providers must navigate these complexities while fulfilling their safety obligations.
Who Does the Act Apply To?
The Online Safety Act casts a wide net, applying to any digital service that allows user interaction, user-generated content, or search functionality. This includes websites, mobile apps, and other online services such as:
a. Social Media Platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and similar platforms fall under the Act’s scope due to their user-to-user content sharing capabilities.
b. Video-Sharing Services: Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, where users upload and interact with video content.
c. Online Forums and Messaging Apps: Services like Reddit, WhatsApp, and Discord, where users share and discuss content.
d. Dating Services and Gaming Platforms: Apps and websites enabling user communication and interaction in various contexts.
Regulated Services and Categories
The Online Safety Act (OSA) oversees a wide range of digital services to ensure that online interactions are safe and free from harmful content. It specifically regulates two primary types of platforms: user-to-user services and search services.
User-to-User Services and Search Services
User-to-User Services are platforms where users can post content that others can view. Examples include social media platforms, online forums, and messaging apps where content sharing is central.
Search Services include search engines and other functionalities that allow users to search multiple websites or databases. Platforms that facilitate content discovery across the web fall under this category.
Service Provider Categories Under the OSA
The OSA classifies service providers into distinct categories based on their size and risk levels. Each category determines the level of obligations imposed on the service providers:
a. Category 1: High-Risk User-to-User Services
i. This category includes the largest and most widely used platforms, such as major social media networks.
ii. These services carry the highest risk due to their extensive user bases and influence. As a result, they face more stringent duties to protect users and mitigate harm.
b. Category 2a: Major Search Services: Platforms with significant search functionality fall under this category. These services must adhere to stricter standards due to the role they play in directing users to content across the web.
c. Category 2b: Other Risk-Associated Services: This includes platforms that don’t fall into Category 1 or 2a but still present notable risks to users. The obligations for these services are proportionate to their size and risk factors.
Key Milestones and Duties of Online Safety Act
From 17 March 2025, regulated platforms must implement a range of safety measures designed to mitigate risks identified in their assessments. These changes aim to enforce accountability, improve moderation, and enhance the safety of vulnerable groups.
The following highlights the most critical deliverables expected under the new codes:
1. Senior Accountability
To ensure responsibility at the highest levels, platforms must designate a senior figure accountable for compliance with illegal content, reporting, and complaints obligations. This measure integrates safety oversight into the core governance of tech firms.
2. Enhanced Moderation and Reporting
a. Platforms are required to resource and train moderation teams adequately, enabling swift removal of illegal content such as material promoting suicide.
b. Clear and accessible reporting tools must be in place to help users easily report issues, with prompt responses mandated.
c. Platforms need to test and refine their algorithms to prevent illegal content from spreading.
Types of Content Addressed by the Online Safety Act
The Online Safety Act (OSA) introduces stringent measures to combat various forms of harmful and illegal content, emphasising user protection while ensuring platforms remain accountable.
The Act tackles two main categories of content: illegal material and content harmful to children, with clearly outlined responsibilities for online platforms to address both effectively.
1. Addressing Illegal Content
The OSA mandates platforms to take comprehensive actions against illegal content and activity. Companies are required to proactively reduce the likelihood of their services being used for illegal purposes and to implement systems for the swift removal of such content when detected.
Search engines are also tasked with reducing the risks of users encountering illegal content through their services.
A key component of the Act is its focus on priority offences, which encompass the most severe and prevalent forms of illegal activity. Platforms must take proactive measures against these offences, including:
- 1. Child sexual abuse
- 2. Controlling or coercive behavior
- 3. Extreme sexual violence
- 4. Extreme pornography
- 5. Fraud
- 6. Racially or religiously aggravated public order offenses
- 7. Inciting violence
- 8. Illegal immigration and people smuggling
- 9. Promoting or facilitating suicide
- 10. Intimate image abuse
- 11. Selling illegal drugs or weapons
- 12. Sexual exploitation
- 13. Terrorism
2. Protecting Children from Harmful Content
At its core, the OSA prioritizes safeguarding children from exposure to harmful or age-inappropriate content. While some of this content may not be illegal, it poses significant risks to a child’s well-being and development.
The Act requires platforms accessible to children to implement measures that effectively prevent harmful interactions and exposure.
The Act categorises harmful content for children into two distinct groups:
- a. Primary Priority Content:: This includes the most critical types of content that children must be completely shielded from. Examples include:
- i. Pornography
- ii. Content promoting or instructing on self-harm, eating disorders, or suicide
- b. Priority Content: Children’s exposure to these types of content must be carefully controlled, allowing access only where age-appropriate. Examples include:
- i. Bullying
- ii. Abusive or hateful content
- iii. Content encouraging serious violence or injury
- iv. Dangerous stunts and challenges
- v. Content promoting ingestion or exposure to harmful substances
How the Online Safety Act Protects Children?
The Online Safety Act introduces comprehensive measures to safeguard children from harmful and inappropriate content online.
It aims to create a digital environment that prioritises child safety through robust mechanisms, including content regulation, accountability for platforms, and legal protections. These measures collectively reduce the risks children face in navigating the internet.
a. Enforcing Age Verification and Age Assurance: One of the cornerstone protections introduced by the Act is the requirement for age verification and assurance technologies. These measures ensure children cannot access content or platforms that are unsuitable for their age.
For instance:
i. Dedicated pornography websites must confirm that users are 18 years or older before granting access.
ii. Social media platforms must prevent children under the minimum age—often 13—from creating accounts or interacting on their services.
b. Increasing Platform Accountability: The Act places significant responsibilities on social media platforms to protect children from harmful interactions and materials. This includes:
i. Risk Transparency: The largest platforms must conduct and publish risk assessments that outline the dangers children face on their services.
ii. Content Moderation: Platforms are legally obligated to prevent the sharing of illegal and harmful content, such as material depicting child exploitation or abuse. They must also act quickly to remove such content if it appears.
iii. Terms Enforcement: Platforms are now bound by law to uphold their own terms and conditions, ensuring they deliver on the promises made to users at the time of sign-up.
c. Criminalising Harmful Online Behaviours: The Act establishes new criminal offenses targeting harmful online actions, including:
i. Encouraging self-harm or sharing harmful flashing content that could trigger seizures in individuals with epilepsy.
ii. Cyberflashing, or sending unsolicited explicit images.
iii. Trolling, particularly targeting individuals to provoke distress.
d. Supporting Parents and Families: The legislation recognises the importance of empowering families to address online safety concerns. It introduces:
i. Accessible Reporting Tools: Platforms must offer user-friendly mechanisms for parents and children to report problems or harmful content.
ii. Data Access Rights: Bereaved parents can now request access to their deceased child’s online data to understand and address concerns surrounding their digital experiences.
e. Preventing Children’s Exposure to Pornography: A critical focus of the Act is on protecting children from exposure to pornographic content, a growing concern highlighted by alarming research.
Studies reveal that many children encounter pornography by the age of 13, often accidentally. This early exposure risks distorting their understanding of healthy relationships, consent, and sexuality.
2. The Future of the Online Safety Act: Next Steps and Implementation: With the Online Safety Act now officially enacted, the focus shifts to its enforcement and evolution. The responsibility for implementing and regulating the Act falls to Ofcom, which will oversee compliance and ensure the law’s effectiveness.
However, this is far from a static process, as ongoing efforts are required to adapt the Act to emerging threats and technologies.
Collaboration for Effective Regulation
There are various organisations which are committed to working alongside Ofcom to ensure the Act’s implementation truly safeguards children.
The ever-changing digital landscape, including advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Virtual Reality (VR), introduces new risks that demand vigilance.
Continuous collaboration with the government will ensure the legislation remains proactive and responsive to novel online harms.
One such area under scrutiny is the regulation of pornographic content, particularly materials that sexualise children.
Advocacy groups are calling for online pornography to be regulated with the same rigor as offline content, with a focus on eradicating harmful genres like “barely legal” and incest-themed pornography.
These materials, though legal online, would face strict prohibitions offline. Advocacy for tighter restrictions and consistent enforcement remains a priority.
Adults Will Have More Control Over the Content They See
The OSA recognises that adult users should have autonomy over their online experiences. To this end, the Act requires platforms to provide:
a. Customisable Filters: Adults can adjust settings to block or allow certain types of content based on personal preferences.
b. Transparency Tools: Features such as content labeling and warnings ensure users are aware of the nature of the material they may encounter.
c. Effective Reporting: Adults can report harmful content or abusive behavior with the assurance of timely action from platforms.
How the Online Safety Act Will Be Enforced
The Online Safety Act introduces a comprehensive framework for enforcement, with Ofcom at the helm. As the designated regulatory authority, Ofcom is tasked with ensuring that technology companies comply with the Act’s requirements.
This includes providing clear guidance and codes of practice, which are currently under consultation and will take effect upon parliamentary approval.
To hold companies accountable, Ofcom is empowered with robust enforcement mechanisms, such as:
a. Financial Penalties: Non-compliant companies may face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their global annual turnover, whichever amount is higher..
b. Criminal Actions: Senior managers and companies that fail to meet regulatory demands or obstruct Ofcom’s requests may face legal consequences, including criminal charges.
c. Business Disruption Orders: Ofcom can impose measures that prevent companies from operating in the UK or generating income within its borders if they persistently fail to comply.
How the Act Protects Women and Girls
Recognising the disproportionate impact of online abuse on women and girls, the Online Safety Act mandates that platforms take proactive measures to address harmful and illegal content targeting them. Specific issues addressed under the Act include:
a. Harassment and Stalking
b. Controlling or Coercive Behavior
c. Revenge Pornography
d. Extreme Pornographic Content
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All user-to-user platforms and search services are required to establish systems for the rapid removal of such content once flagged. These requirements will be detailed in Ofcom’s codes of practice, ensuring clarity and consistency in enforcement.
In addition to enforcing removal systems, the Act emphasizes collaboration. Ofcom is required to consult with key stakeholders such as the Victim’s Commissioner and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner when developing these codes.
This collaborative approach ensures that the concerns and experiences of women, girls, and victims are meaningfully integrated into policy and practice.
How the Act Tackles Misinformation and Disinformation
The Online Safety Act takes a balanced approach to misinformation and disinformation, addressing harmful content while safeguarding freedom of expression. The Act focuses on two key areas:
1. Illegal Disinformation: Platforms are required to promptly remove content that falls under illegal disinformation, particularly state-sponsored activities such as those captured under the Foreign Interference Offence. This ensures that platforms actively combat state-linked disinformation campaigns and online interference.
2. Harmful to Children: Services accessible to children must implement additional safeguards against harmful misinformation. This includes content that could mislead or harm young users, ensuring a secure online experience for vulnerable audiences.
For Category 1 services, there is an added responsibility to uphold their terms of service. If their policies prohibit certain types of mis- and disinformation, they are legally obligated to enforce these rules consistently.
Through these measures, the Act ensures that platforms address the most serious risks of harm posed by false and misleading content while preserving user rights and access to information.
How Will the Online Safety Act Interact with Existing Laws?
The Online Safety Act (OSA) introduces a new layer of obligations for service providers, creating potential intersections and conflicts with existing legal frameworks, particularly the Defamation Act 2013 (DA) and the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).
Impact on Defamation Protections
Under Section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013, website operators can defend themselves against defamation claims by demonstrating that they are not the author of the offending content. However, the OSA might limit this protection.
If defamatory material is deemed illegal or harmful under the OSA, platforms could face penalties for failing to implement adequate safeguards to prevent such content from being published.
This shift compels service providers to adopt more proactive measures in identifying and removing defamatory material. Platforms may need to intervene earlier to prevent harm caused by content that damages the reputation of individuals.
However, this proactive stance must be balanced carefully to avoid infringing on users’ rights to freedom of expression, which is safeguarded under both the HRA and the OSA itself.
Balancing Defamation, Safety, and Free Expression
The intersection of defamation law, online safety, and free expression introduces significant challenges. Determining whether a statement is defamatory is often complex, as it requires context and intent analysis.
Over-policing content risks curtailing lawful expression, undermining the principles of free speech. Conversely, insufficient action against harmful content could result in legal liabilities under the OSA.
To navigate these challenges effectively:
a. Enhanced Reporting Mechanisms: Platforms should provide robust and accessible tools for users to report defamatory content. This ensures that concerns are flagged promptly and transparently.
b. Careful Investigation: Service providers must evaluate reported content thoroughly, considering their responsibilities under the DA, OSA, and HRA before deciding whether to remove it.
c. Avoiding Rash Decisions: By improving reporting and review processes, platforms can prevent hasty decisions that may inadvertently infringe on users’ rights or fail to meet their legal obligations.
Proactive Measures for Compliance
The OSA’s requirements might encourage platforms to develop advanced systems for detecting and managing potentially defamatory content. Key measures include:
a. Improved Content Moderation: Investing in AI tools and trained personnel to evaluate and address defamatory or harmful material.
b. Educational Initiatives: Informing users about acceptable content guidelines and the potential consequences of defamatory statements.
c. Transparency and Oversight: Clearly documenting the steps taken to address complaints, ensuring accountability and compliance with overlapping legal frameworks.
Final Thoughts
The Online Safety Act represents a groundbreaking step toward creating a safer digital landscape for users of all ages. By holding tech companies accountable through robust enforcement measures, the Act ensures platforms prioritize the safety of their users, particularly vulnerable groups such as children, women, and girls.
With Ofcom leading the regulatory efforts, the Act’s success lies in its dynamic adaptability. It addresses current risks like illegal content, targeted harassment, and disinformation while remaining prepared to evolve alongside emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.
For women and girls, the Act provides a crucial framework to combat online abuse and harassment, ensuring their voices are reflected in policy and their safety needs are met.
Additionally, its focus on misinformation and disinformation strikes a careful balance between protecting users from harm and preserving freedom of expression.
As the Online Safety Act takes shape through enforcement, collaboration between regulators, governments, and advocacy groups will remain essential to its long-term success.
This legislation not only sets a new standard for online safety but also reaffirms the importance of a shared responsibility in fostering an equitable and secure digital world.
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