A primer on the new law for relevant service providers, within and beyond the UK.
By Gail E. Crawford, Deborah J. Kirk, Fiona M. Maclean, Alain Traill, Victoria Wan, and Amy Smyth
The Online Safety Act (the OSA) received Royal Assent on 26 October 2023 and is now in force.
The OSA establishes an extensive regulatory framework for providers of online user-to-user services and search services with links to the UK. A link to the UK depends on the size and nature of the UK user-base of the service, and does not require the provider of the service to be established or located in the UK. The OSA aims to protect children and adults online by imposing duties of care on such service providers to prevent the proliferation of illegal content and activity online and of content and activity that is harmful to children, and to protect against fraudulent advertising.
The OSA is a significant departure from the existing regulatory regime in the UK applicable to online intermediaries, as obligations have moved from being reactive (i.e., notice and takedown) to proactive (i.e., requirements to implement policies/procedures to protect users). Ofcom, which will have regulatory powers to enforce sanctions, will enforce the OSA.