THE ONLINE SAFETY ACT IS COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 17TH OF MARCH

Core Objectives:

• Protecting Users from Illegal Harm:
  • The act places a legal duty on online service providers to protect their users from illegal content and activity.
  • This includes a wide range of illegal content, such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), terrorist content, and fraud.
• Emphasis on Child Safety:
  • A major focus of the act is to protect children from online harms.
  • This involves measures to prevent children from accessing harmful content, such as pornography and content promoting self-harm.
  • There are also requirements for robust age verification systems.
• Accountability and Enforcement:
  • Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, is responsible for enforcing the act.
  • Providers that fail to comply with the new rules face potential enforcement action.
  • Providers are required to do risk assessments, and then put in place measures to mitigate those risks.

Key Implementation Dates and Aspects:

• Risk Assessments:
  • Online providers are required to conduct risk assessments to identify potential illegal harms on their platforms.
  • There is a deadline of 16 March 2025, for the completion of illegal content risk assessments.
• Implementation of Safety Measures:
  • From 17 March 2025, providers must implement effective measures to protect users from illegal content and activity.
• Age Verification:
  • Services that host pornography are required to implement robust age verification systems.
  • There are also various dates throughout 2025 for the implementation of risk assessments concerning child safety.
• Ofcom's Role:
  • Ofcom is actively involved in providing guidance and codes of practice to help providers comply with the act.
    

They are also prepared to take enforcement action against those who fail to meet their obligations.

Key Points to Note:

• The act applies to a wide range of online services, including social media platforms, search engines, and video-sharing sites.
• The implementation of the act is being phased, with different requirements and deadlines for different types of services.
• The act also is designed to help protect adults, with measures in place to help prevent things like online fraud, and other illegal online activity.

In essence, the Online Safety Act represents a significant shift in the UK's approach to online regulation, placing greater responsibility on online providers to ensure the safety of their users.