Online regulation in the UK
The UK has become one of the first countries to introduce widespread regulation of online content with the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA).
The OSA targets three main categories of harmful content:
- illegal content
- content that is lawful but "harmful to children"
- fraudulent advertising
The scope of the OSA is broad and applies to a range of services, both large and small, where they are user-to-user (U2U) or search engine services. This includes services that offer online marketplaces, dating apps, online games and forums. The OSA applies to any U2U or search service with links to the UK, which includes services accessed by individuals in the UK but that operate from another jurisdiction. The OSA places additional duties on services that are likely to be accessed by children. Categorised services, which are generally larger services, must also comply with transparency requirements which include publishing details about their OSA compliance in their terms and conditions, as well as reporting directly to Ofcom (the OSA regulator). Some services are also required to pay a fee to Ofcom.
All services in scope of the OSA owe their users a duty of care, and must put in place systems and processes to protect their users. In-scope services must also hold appropriate compliance documentation, pay any fees due to Ofcom, submit any required compliance documentation to Ofcom, and conduct regular reviews of their compliance as advised by Ofcom's guidance.
Ofcom's role is to enforce failures to comply with the OSA and associated regulations and guidance. It may impose financial penalties (including fines of up to £18 million or ten percent of global turnover, whichever is higher), as well as potential criminal sanctions for senior managers.
The OSA aims to dramatically change how we interact on the internet and, it is hoped, afford significantly better protection to victims of online harms. However, despite Ofcom's programme of guidance, questions remain as to how the OSA should operate in practice, its impact on businesses (including new businesses), and the broader implications for privacy rights and freedom of speech. We are monitoring these impacts closely and regularly update our clients on developments.
This page provides links to key documents and commentary on the OSA, as well as broader issues relating to online harms. We also set out the key implementation dates below.