Online Safety Act receives royal assent
Contentious rules are now law in the UK
The Online Safety Bill is now the Online Safety Act (OSA) having officially received royal assent on Thursday.
Social media and tech platforms will now bear legal responsibility for curbing illegal content and protecting users, particularly children, from harmful online experiences. Spearheaded by rigorous debates within the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Act imposes strict guidelines, signalling a zero-tolerance stance on various online offences.
Under the Act, which was years in the making and remains highly controversial, tech companies will be required to remove or prevent illegal content, including that which promotes self-harm or encourages bullying. They must also implement effective age restrictions and checking mechanisms on platforms where harmful content for children is accessible. The legislation also emphasizes the importance of transparency from social media platforms about the potential risks and dangers to children.
Failing to comply with the Act's rules could land companies with fines of up to £18 million, or 10% of their global annual turnover (whichever is higher), and their bosses could even face prison.
In an email to Computing, Ria Moody, TMT managing associate at law firm Linklaters, said: "The OSA is vast in its scope and application, with the government having predicted that some 100,000 services will be in scope.
"The most stringent obligations will be reserved for those platforms considered to have the highest reach and pose the highest risk (so-called Category 1 services), but all regulated online platforms will be subject to new obligations concerning illegal content or harmful content that may be accessed by children.
"The Act tackles many of the same underlying issues that the European Union's Digital Services Act does - but in a very different way. With the DSA having been adopted earlier this year, many online services are now thinking about how to adapt their DSA compliance processes to meet the requirements of the OSA - and, indeed, the myriad of other content regulation regimes coming into effect globally.
"Now that the Act is in force, Ofcom has signalled it's ready to regulate, and will begin consulting on the first set of proposals for tackling illegal harms within the next few weeks. However, much of the detail of the legislative regimes rests on secondary legislation and codes that Ofcom will need to develop, and it has indicated that it will not have many of those tools in place until late 2024."
Acknowledging the groundbreaking nature of this legislation, government officials expressed their commitment to creating a safer online environment. Ofcom, the newly appointed online safety regulator, will lead the charge in enforcing these regulations. With the Act now in effect, Ofcom will begin addressing illegal content, with a comprehensive consultation process set to launch on 9th November 2023.
Several social media companies have already taken proactive steps in anticipation of the Act, including implementing stronger age verification measures and removing underage accounts.
However, many smaller platforms fear they will be caught by legislation ostensibly designed to police the big platforms and that compliance will be hugely costly, if not impossible.
Critics argue that the Act ushers in a new age of online surveillance by the authorities and may prove unworkable in practice.