UK Companies Legally Obligated to Prevent Children from Accessing ‘Harmful Content’
The Communications regulator Ofcom announced that it will seek a court order to block websites in the UK if they do not adhere to the Online Safety Act.
Under internet regulations, companies are now obligated to restrict children’s access to “harmful content” in the UK.
The Online Safety Act (OSA), dubbed the world’s first online safety law, was enacted in October 2023. However, the responsibilities regarding child safety measures for sites and apps will come into effect this July.
Providers of services accessible to UK children have until July 24 to conduct and document an assessment of the risks their service poses to children.
This includes creating social media feeds with less harmful content and safeguards against stranger contact.
If companies do not meet their new obligations, Ofcom has the authority to levy fines and, in serious cases, seek a court order to block the site or app in the UK.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s chief executive, emphasized that the changes represent a significant step for child protection online.
Providers of the most risky services like pornography must implement strong age verification methods to identify child users while enabling adults to access legal content.
These methods include open banking, photo ID matching, facial age estimation, and more.
Failure to implement age verification processes by July 25 will result in enforcement actions by Ofcom, including fines up to 10% of a company’s revenue or £18 million.
Ofcom may also seek court orders to disrupt third parties’ services that support non-compliant websites.
Forums
Social media platforms and user-to-user service providers must actively monitor their platforms for harmful content under the act.
Sites with user interaction, including forums, must complete an illegal harm risk assessment.
While some offenses like terrorism are clear-cut, others such as hate offenses are more challenging to manage on large forums.
Popular cycling forum London Fixed Gear and Single Speed closed in December 2024 due to regulatory burdens.
U.S. sites are also blocking UK users due to the legislation.
The Open Rights Group urged the government to exempt small community websites from the act.
Concerns have been raised over the extensive regulations outlined by Ofcom, potentially favoring large companies over small ones.
