Online Safety Act 2023

সারসংক্ষেপ

The Online Safety Act 2023 establishes the United Kingdom's regulatory framework for the safety of online services, with Ofcom designated as the independent regulator. The Act applies to providers of regulated user-to-user services and regulated search services with links to the UK. It imposes duties of care: providers must assess risks of illegal content, take proportionate steps to prevent users encountering priority illegal content, and protect children from content harmful to them. Particular categorical services (Category 1, 2A, 2B) attract additional duties around freedom of expression, news publisher content, transparency, and user empowerment. The Act creates new communications offences (s.179 false communications, s.181 threatening communications, s.187 cyberflashing). Ofcom can impose fines up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, and senior managers face personal criminal liability for failures to comply with confirmation decisions. The duties are being phased in via Ofcom codes of practice from 2024-2026.

মূল পয়েন্ট

• Duties of care on providers of user-to-user services and search services to assess and mitigate risks (Part 3)
• Priority illegal content duties — terrorism, child sexual exploitation and abuse, fraud, immigration crime, and others (s.7 and Schedule 5)
• Children's safety duties — providers likely to be accessed by children must carry out a children's risk assessment and protect children from primary priority and priority content harmful to them (s.12)
• Category 1 services have additional duties including transparency reporting (s.68), user empowerment tools (s.14), and protection of journalistic and news-publisher content (ss.18-19)
• New offences: false communications (s.179), threatening communications (s.181), cyberflashing (s.187), epilepsy-trolling (s.183), encouraging or assisting serious self-harm (s.184)
• Ofcom as regulator with enforcement powers including fines up to £18m or 10% of global turnover, business disruption measures, and service restriction orders (Part 7)
• Senior manager liability for failure to comply with information notices or confirmation decisions (s.110)
• Age verification and age assurance requirements for pornography providers (Part 5)
• Removed pre-bill 'legal but harmful for adults' category replaced with user empowerment duties on Category 1
• Transparency reporting requirements for Category 1, 2A, 2B services (s.68)

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