Joint Briefing: Implementation of the Online Safety Act

The Online Safety Act (2023) places strict requirements on tech companies to assess and mitigate the risk of foreseeable harm on their services – in particular, illegal harms and harms with specific risks to children. This was the overarching intent of the legislation when it passed through Parliament in October 2023.

The UK’s online safety regulator, Ofcom, has been tasked with implementing the regime by providing detailed guidance and codes of practice and setting out how it will approach enforcement. In December, Ofcom published the first iteration of its Illegal Harms Code of Practice 1 and is due to publish its final Children’s Safety Code of Practice in April 2025.

Since the publication of the first draft code, there has been considerable concern from civil society, victims’ groups, academics, parents’ groups and parliamentarians that Ofcom’s proposals do not align with parliamentary intent and will fail to meet the Act’s objectives.

5Rights and a coalition of civil society members are asking Members of Parliament to call on the Government and Ofcom to provide robust protections for children in the upcoming codes. The 5Rights coordinated briefing insists the codes must adopt a safety-by-design approach, reflect the Act’s risk-based regulatory regime, and give separate considerations to children in different age groups.