The Online Safety Act has come into force today, marking a major milestone in the UK government’s efforts to project young people from harm online.
From today, media regulator Ofcom can begin enforcing the Online Safety Act’s Illegal Content codes, which require online platforms to take action to protect the public from illegal content and criminal activity occurring on their platforms.
The act was first brought before parliament in March 2022 and received royal assent in November 2023. It was the successor to the Online Harms White Paper, produced in April 2019 under the Theresa May government.
A major focus of these new regulations is the detection and removal of child sexual abuse content. Online predators are increasingly exploiting digital platforms to commit horrific crimes. Under the Act, companies at risk of hosting such content must proactively detect the content using advanced tools such as automated hash-matching and robust moderation and reporting mechanisms.
Last year, the Internet Watch Foundation facilitated the removal of over 290,000 instances of such material.
Under the terms of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom will have powers to take action against companies which do not follow their new duties. Companies can be fined up to £18 million or 10 percent of their qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater.
A failure to comply with the requirements of Ofcom’s statutory information gathering powers will be deemed a criminal offence.
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the changes “represent a major step forward in creating a safer online world.”
“For too long illegal content including child abuse material, terrorist content, and intimate image abuse has been easy to find online. But from today social media platforms and others have a legal duty to prevent and remove that content.
“In recent years, tech companies have treated safety as an afterthought. That changes today.We will keep listening and we will not hesitate to strengthen the law further to ensure the safety of our children and the British public.”
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