UK Online Safety Act 2023

Use highly effective age assurance technology to determine whether users are children, considering proportionality and Ofcom guidance

Section 12(4)-(6) - Highly effective age verification or age estimation for primary priority content (regulated user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

Services likely to be accessed by children must use proportionate and effective age assurance measures compliant with Ofcom standards for accuracy, privacy, and accessibility

Section 82 - OFCOM's guidance about the duties in section 81 (Part 5 highly effective age assurance), read with section 53 · Read the full page →

Assess and mitigate the risk that algorithmic systems including recommendations, auto-play, and trending features amplify harmful content to children

Section 11(6)(b), (e)-(f) and Section 12(2), 12(8)(b), 12(12) - Algorithms and content discovery in the children's risk assessment and safety measures · Read the full page →

Operate accessible complaints and appeals procedures covering safety duty compliance and content moderation decisions, with outcome notifications

Section 21 - Duties about complaints procedures (user-to-user); Section 32 (search services) · Read the full page →

Be transparent about content moderation systems, including automated tools, human review, decision criteria, and moderation volumes, and inform users of automated decisions

Section 12(12) and Section 21(4)(e) - Proactive technology: terms-of-service information and complaints (with Section 77 and Schedule 8 for transparency reporting) · Read the full page →

Ofcom can impose penalties up to £18M or 10% of global revenue and pursue business disruption measures; services must cooperate with investigations

Part 7 Chapter 6 - OFCOM enforcement: provisional notices, confirmation decisions, penalties and business disruption measures · Read the full page →

Operate proportionate systems to prevent users encountering priority illegal content and minimise the time any illegal content remains on the service

Sections 9 and 10 - Illegal content risk assessment and safety duties (regulated user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

Services must proactively address priority categories of illegal content including CSAM, terrorism, fraud, drugs, weapons, immigration offences, and sexual exploitation

Section 59 with Schedules 5, 6 and 7 - Priority illegal content: the priority offence categories · Read the full page →

Comply with Ofcom codes of practice as the recommended means of satisfying statutory duties, or face penalties of up to 10% of worldwide revenue

Sections 41-51 - OFCOM codes of practice: the compliance safe harbour and the alternative-measures route · Read the full page →

Provide easy-to-find, easy-to-use reporting mechanisms appropriate for child users to report harmful content, with a complaints procedure

Section 20 - Duty about content reporting (regulated user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

WITHDRAWN ATTRIBUTION — not a verified statutory duty. Section 146 of the Online Safety Act 2023 is the court's power to make an access restriction order, not a researcher-access duty. Section 162 requires OFCOM to report on researchers' access to information, and section 154A gives the Secretary of State a regulation-making power; no provider duty exists in the Act as retrieved (legislation.gov.uk, revised text, 2026-09-21). The researcher-access duty previously attributed to this record has no source.

Section 154A - Information for research about online safety matters (power to make researcher access regulations) · Read the full page →

Conduct a suitable and sufficient children's risk assessment evaluating the risk of harm from primary priority, priority, and other harmful content

Section 11 - Children's risk assessment duties (provider of a regulated user-to-user service likely to be accessed by children) · Read the full page →

Operate proportionate systems to mitigate and manage risks from other content harmful to children that falls outside the primary priority and priority content tiers

Section 12(3)(b) and 12(9)(c) - Non-designated content that is harmful to children (regulated user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

Operate proportionate systems to prevent children of any age from encountering primary priority harmful content including pornography, self-harm, suicide, and eating disorder content

Section 12(3)(a) - Safety duties protecting children: preventing children of any age from encountering primary priority content · Read the full page →

Operate proportionate systems to mitigate and manage the risks of priority harmful content reaching children, with enhanced protections for higher-risk age groups

Section 12(2) and 12(3)(b) - Safety duties protecting children: mitigating risk and protecting age groups at risk from priority content · Read the full page →

Publish a clear, accessible, and prominent statement in the terms of service explaining children's safety measures, and consistently apply those stated policies

Section 12(9)-(13) - Terms of service: children's safety measures (with s 12(14) for Category 1 services) · Read the full page →

Conduct a children's access assessment to determine whether the service is likely to be accessed by children, considering user base, design, and content

Sections 35-37 - Children's access assessments (providers of Part 3 services); Schedule 3 Part 1 (timing) · Read the full page →

Provide user empowerment features allowing adult users to increase or reduce their likelihood of encountering specified content types

Section 15 - User empowerment duties (Category 1 user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

Make and keep written records of all risk assessments and compliance steps, review compliance regularly, and be able to provide records to Ofcom on request

Sections 23 and 34 - Record-keeping and review duties (user-to-user: s 23; search: s 34) · Read the full page →

Produce and publish annual transparency reports as directed by Ofcom, covering content moderation, safety measures, and complaint outcomes

Section 77 - Transparency reports about certain Part 3 services (Category 1, 2A and 2B services, on OFCOM notice) · Read the full page →

Category 1 services must protect content of democratic importance and have particular regard to free expression when making content moderation decisions about political and public interest content

Section 17 - Duties to protect content of democratic importance (Category 1 user-to-user services) · Read the full page →

Include clear terms of service provisions covering prohibited content, enforcement actions, and appeals, and apply them consistently

Sections 71 and 72 - Terms of service: acting only in accordance with the terms, and further duties (Category 1, except s 72(1)) · Read the full page →

Provide children and parents with safety management tools including parental controls, content filters, contact management, and usage tools

Section 12(2)-(3) and 12(8)(f)-(g) - Control functionalities and user support as areas for proportionate children's safety measures · Read the full page →