Your Rights Online
The Online Safety Act 2023 places legal duties on social media platforms and search services to protect UK users, with Ofcom as regulator. Alongside it, criminal offences cover intimate-image abuse, threatening and false communications, and harassment, while defamation law protects your reputation. The criminal and defamation rules described here apply in England and Wales.
Last updated: 2026-07-30
Your Rights
Right to Have Illegal Content Taken Down
Regulated platforms must use proportionate systems to prevent users encountering 'priority illegal content' and, where they are alerted to any illegal content, to 'swiftly take down such content'. This is a legal duty owed by the platform, not a favour.
Right to Report Content Easily
Platforms must operate systems that allow users and affected persons to 'easily report' illegal content, and — on services likely to be accessed by children — content harmful to children.
Right to a Real Complaints and Appeals Procedure
Platforms must run a complaints procedure that is 'easy to access, easy to use (including by children) and transparent', takes appropriate action, and covers complaints about wrongful takedowns and account restrictions as well as harmful content. Government guidance confirms users must be able to challenge how companies enforce their terms of service.
Protection from Intimate-Image Abuse ('Revenge Porn')
Intentionally sharing a photograph or film showing someone in an intimate state without their consent is a criminal offence — the base offence requires no intent to cause distress. Threatening to share such images is also an offence. Platforms must take down content reported through an intimate image content report as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 48 hours, via an expedited complaints route.
Protection from Threatening and False Communications
It is an offence to send a message conveying a threat of death or serious harm (including grievous bodily harm, rape or serious financial loss), intending or being reckless as to whether the recipient fears it will be carried out. Sending information you know to be false, intending to cause non-trivial psychological or physical harm, is also an offence.
Protection from Online Harassment and Grossly Offensive Messages
A course of conduct amounting to harassment — which the sender knows or ought to know is harassment — is unlawful, online as much as offline. Separately, sending an indecent or grossly offensive electronic communication with the purpose of causing distress or anxiety carries up to two years' imprisonment.
Right to Protect Your Reputation (Defamation)
A statement is defamatory only if it has caused or is likely to cause 'serious harm' to your reputation. Website operators have a defence if they did not post the statement — but that defence is defeated where you cannot identify the poster, you sent the operator a notice of complaint, and the operator failed to respond properly.
Common Myths
Platforms can just ignore abuse reports — the internet is unregulated.
The Online Safety Act imposes enforceable duties to remove illegal content and run working complaints systems. Ofcom can fine companies 'up to £18 million or 10 percent of their qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater'.
Saying something offensive online is automatically a crime.
The false communications offence requires that you knew the information was false and intended non-trivial psychological or physical harm; defamation requires serious harm to reputation. Merely being rude or wrong is not enough (Online Safety Act 2023 s.179; Defamation Act 2013 s.1).
Sharing someone's intimate images is only a crime if you meant to upset them.
The base offence under s.66B(1) of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 requires only intentional sharing without consent and without reasonable belief in consent — no intent to cause distress is needed. Intending humiliation or sexual gratification are separate, aggravated offences.
Nothing can be done about anonymous accounts.
Platforms must still remove illegal content when reported, the new communications offences apply to anonymous senders, and in defamation a website operator loses its defence if you could not identify the poster and it failed to respond to your notice of complaint (Defamation Act 2013 s.5(3)).
What To Do
Preserve the Evidence
Take screenshots including usernames, URLs and dates before the content disappears. You will need this for platform reports, police reports or legal action.
Report It to the Platform
Use the platform's reporting tool — it is legally required to let you report illegal content easily and to take down illegal content swiftly once alerted.
Use the Complaints Procedure or Appeal
If the platform does not act — or wrongly removed your content or account — use its complaints procedure, which must be accessible, transparent and lead to appropriate action.
Intimate Images: Use the Expedited Route and Get Support
Make an intimate image content report (takedown within 48 hours), report the offence to the police, and contact the Revenge Porn Helpline for help getting content removed.
Report Crimes to the Police
Threats, harassment, stalking and intimate-image abuse are criminal offences. Call 999 in an emergency, or report via 101 or online otherwise.
For Defamation, Send a Notice of Complaint
Send the website operator a formal notice of complaint about the statement and take legal advice — operators who ignore a valid notice can lose their statutory defence.
Key Legislation
- Online Safety Act 2023
- Sexual Offences Act 2003 ss.66A–66D (inserted by the Online Safety Act 2023)
- Malicious Communications Act 1988
- Protection from Harassment Act 1997
- Defamation Act 2013
Useful Contacts
Report Harmful Content
Free service helping UK users report legal-but-harmful and abusive content across major platforms.
WebsiteRevenge Porn Helpline
Support for adults affected by intimate-image abuse, including help getting images removed.
WebsiteVictim Support
Free, confidential support for victims of online crime, harassment and stalking.
WebsiteOfcom
The online safety regulator — accepts complaints about how platforms comply with their Online Safety Act duties.
Website