UK’s New Online Safety Act Comes Into Force

The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 officially took effect on Friday, July 25, 2025, marking a significant shift in how online platforms are regulated. Enforced by Ofcom, the legislation introduces new standards for protecting children from harmful content and compels platforms to adopt stricter age verification and safety protocols.

Scope of the New Regulation

The legislation applies to various online services that host user-generated content, including social media platforms, gaming services, search engines, and forums. Whether the company is based in the UK or not, if it serves UK users, it falls within the law’s jurisdiction.

Mandatory Age Verification Measures

Under the new law, platforms must implement robust age assurance tools to prevent underage users from accessing inappropriate or harmful content. These may include AI-based age estimation, checks through banking or utility data, or ID document verification.

Regulators emphasize that these systems are designed to verify age, not identity, and must comply with data protection laws.

Protection Against Harmful Content

The act requires platforms to prevent children from being exposed to content related to self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, pornography, or graphic violence. Platforms must ensure such material is not displayed in search results or content recommendations for underage users.

Compliance Obligations for Platforms

In addition to content moderation, platforms are required to:

• Establish accessible reporting systems
• Respond to reports in a timely manner
• Appoint a responsible person for safety compliance\
• Conduct annual reviews of child safety measures

Underlying Concerns and Statistics

Data provided to Parliament before the act’s approval revealed troubling trends in children’s online experiences. Reports showed that:

• 8% of UK children aged 8 to 14 had visited adult sites within a month
• Nearly one in ten children encountered pornographic content by age 9
• Algorithms were frequently pushing harmful content, not just responding to search behavior

Current Compliance Landscape

Several platforms have already taken steps to align with the new requirements. Pornhub, Grindr, Reddit, and X (formerly Twitter) are among those implementing age verification mechanisms. According to Ofcom, more than 6,000 adult content sites are now using age checks to comply.

Ensuring Data Privacy

Ofcom has emphasized that age assurance methods used under the act must protect user privacy. In most cases, verification providers do not share ID documents or personal information with platforms. Instead, they confirm age eligibility through anonymized responses, maintaining compliance with UK GDPR regulations.

Enforcement Measures and Penalties

Ofcom has been granted strong enforcement powers under the act. Non-compliant companies may face fines of up to £18 million or 10 percent of their global annual revenue. Criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to two years for senior managers, may apply in cases of repeated or serious breaches.

The regulator is currently investigating 11 platforms for suspected violations, with further action expected in the coming months.

Addressing Bypassing Attempts

While using VPNs to bypass restrictions remains a possibility, regulators argue that the law’s primary purpose is to reduce children’s passive exposure to harmful material. According to the government, most children were not seeking out explicit content; it was being pushed to them through platform algorithms.

Future Developments

The current rollout represents the beginning of a broader regulatory effort. The UK government has indicated plans for future updates to the law, including potential restrictions on screen time and the use of AI-generated content aimed at children.