Online Safety Act 2023
The Online Safety Act 2023 imposes new duties on internet platforms and introduces criminal offences covering cyberflashing, false communications, and intimate image abuse.
Who is affected: Online platforms (user-to-user services, search services), content creators, and victims of online abuse in the UK
What Changed
The Online Safety Act 2023 creates a new regulatory framework administered by Ofcom, requiring in-scope services to conduct risk assessments and implement safety measures to protect users from illegal content and, for platforms accessible to children, age-appropriate content. Ofcom can fine platforms up to £18 million or 10% of global annual turnover for non-compliance. The Act creates new criminal offences including cyberflashing (sharing an intimate image without consent to cause alarm or distress, contrary to section 66A of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as inserted), sending false communications with intent to cause non-trivial psychological harm, sending threatening communications, and the 'epilepsy trolling' offence. It also strengthens the intimate image abuse offence and introduces new offences around encouraging self-harm. Senior managers of non-compliant platforms may face personal criminal liability.
What To Do
Platform operators must register with Ofcom where required and complete a Children's Access Assessment to determine whether they are likely accessed by children. Businesses running user-to-user services should appoint a designated senior manager with compliance responsibility and put in place processes for risk assessment and content moderation before Ofcom's codes of practice come fully into force. Individuals who receive cyberflashing or intimate images shared without consent should report to the police, as these are now criminal offences carrying up to two years' imprisonment.