Tracker Detail
Online Safety Act 2023
Name | Type | Government | Date Initiated | Status | Last Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online Safety Act 2023 | Legislation | United Kingdom | Oct 11, 2017 | Enacted | Nov 9, 2023 |
Summary
The UK Online Safety Act of 2023 is a sweeping law aimed at making the internet safer for children in particular, while also clamping down on ‘terrorism content,’ illegal or legal but ‘harmful’ content, and fraudulent advertising, among other issues. It also will require age verification for pornography sites. Other proposed bills in the US, such as the federal Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and state-level age verification laws, have largely been modeled off of the UK version.
The Act, first introduced in 2017, was passed in September 2023 and received royal assent on Oct. 26, 2023.
Updates
November 9, 2023. Ofcom opens a consultation on “Protecting people from illegal harms online.” This is the first of four major consultations that Ofcom, as regulator of the new Online Safety Act, will publish as part of our work to establish the new regulations over the next 18 months. The deadline for responses is 5 pm on Friday, February 23, 2024.
