The Online Safety Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023. The Act extends to 241 Sections (divided into 12 parts) and 17 Schedules. Then there is secondary legislation and "guidance". The result is a complex legal framework for UK regulation of the internet - UK Government Online Safety Act.
The commencement process has also added complexity but, by the end of 2025, almost the whole of the Act will be in force.
The government has published an Explainer - HERE. This begins -
'The Online Safety Act 2023 (the Act) is a new set of laws that protects children and adults online. It puts a range of new duties on social media companies and search services, making them more responsible for their users’ safety on their platforms. The Act will give providers new duties to implement systems and processes to reduce risks their services are used for illegal activity, and to take down illegal content when it does appear.
The strongest protections in the Act have been designed for children. Platforms will be required to prevent children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and provide parents and children with clear and accessible ways to report problems online when they do arise.
The Act will also protect adult users, ensuring that major platforms will need to be more transparent about which kinds of potentially harmful content they allow, and give people more control over the types of content they want to see.
Ofcom is the independent regulator of Online Safety. It will set out steps providers can take to fulfil their safety duties in codes of practice. It has a broad range of powers to assess and enforce providers’ compliance with the framework.'
Criticism and concerns
Particularly with regard to child protection, the Act has a laudable aim but concerns have been expressed that the Act inhibits free speech and may amount to a form of censorship.
With fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue for non-compliance, platforms like X have a strong financial incentive to err on the side of censorship—even at the cost of lawful political expression.
It appears that some of the concerns may be borne out. It is reported that -
' ... British users of X (formerly Twitter) were swiftly met with what critics are calling its first major free speech casualty: censorship of anti-migration protest footage.
Users in the UK attempting to access videos from recent demonstrations—including those related to an alleged sexual assault involving an Ethiopian migrant in Epping—were met with age verification warnings and content restrictions. Screenshots shared online revealed messages such as: “Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age.'
E2EE
End to end encryption is regarded by many internet users as essential so that they can keep their online messages confidential. E2EE overrides current controls in place that help to keep children safe and potentially poses a risk.
In 2023, the government published End-to-end encyption and child safety.
High Court
The Wikimedia Foundation brought an action in the High Court to challenge certain Regulations made under powers in the Act - High Court - Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations
Petition
There is also an Online Petition calling for repeal of the Act. The petition continues until 22 October and, at the time of writing, already has almost 400,000 signatures.
Links
Constitution Society 1 December 2023 - The Online Safety Act: scrutiny, safeguards and civil liberties
Telegraph 26 July 2025 The Online Safety Act is an assault on freedom
House of Commons Library 25 February 2025 - Research Briefing - Implementation of the Online Safety Act
Ofcom 24 July 2025 - Online Safety - Age checks must be in force from tomorrow.
Ofcom 26 July 2025 - Age checks for online safety - what you need to know as a user
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