Summer 2026
Categorisation and additional duties on categorised services
Following a legal challenge against the secondary legislation setting thresholds determining which services are categorised under the OSA, Ofcom will carry out a representations process in early 2026 to give affected services an opportunity to comment on its provisional decisions. Ofcom intends to publish the categorisation register around July 2026, subject to the outcomes of the representations process.
Transparency regime commences
After publication of the register of categorised services, Ofcom will issue notices to categorised services within a few weeks, requiring them to publish transparency reports. All categorised services must publish their first reports by summer 2027.
Age assurance statutory report
Ofcom will publish a report by the end of July 2026 assessing how services have used age assurance and how effective it has been for the purpose of complying with their duties under the OSA.