The Online Safety Act 2023 established a comprehensive regulatory framework requiring online platforms to identify and mitigate harms to users, with Ofcom as the primary regulator responsible for issuing Codes of Practice, conducting investigations, and enforcing compliance across user-to-user services and search engines.
The Act represents the UK's primary legislative response to online harms including child sexual abuse, suicide promotion, cyber harassment, fraud, and misinformation; implementation failures carry direct public safety consequences and are subject to intense parliamentary scrutiny from bereaved families and civil society.
Implementation is ongoing through 2024–2026, with Ofcom progressing Codes of Practice, category threshold regulations now approved, fees and penalties regime established, and active investigations underway including into Kick Online Entertainment and a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths.
Commons Debate Pack prepared for the Westminster Hall debate of 26 February 2025, providing a comprehensive overview of OSA implementation progress, Ofcom's role, and outstanding issues.
Research publication examining screen time and social media use, directly relevant to OSA implementation debates on child safety and age-appropriate content.
Lords approval of the regulations defining which platforms fall into the highest-risk categories under the OSA, triggering the most stringent duties; a critical implementation milestone.
Approved regulations amending the list of priority offences under the OSA, expanding the scope of illegal content duties on platforms.
Grand Committee scrutiny of the priority offences amendment regulations, with debate on the scope of offences to be treated as priority illegal content.
Grand Committee consideration of regulations defining how platforms' worldwide revenue is calculated for the purposes of OSA fee and penalty thresholds.
Earlier Grand Committee consideration of the 2024 priority offences amendment regulations, an early implementation step expanding illegal content duties.
Ofcom's policy statement on the fees and penalties regime, setting out how platforms will be charged for regulation and the financial penalties for non-compliance.
Published outcome of the October 2024–January 2025 consultation on the fees and penalties regime, confirming Ofcom's approach to funding the regulatory regime.
Consultation on Ofcom's guidance for exercising information-gathering powers under the OSA, including data preservation notices and coroner information notices.
Published outcome including updated guidance on data preservation notices and coroner information notices, reflecting new statutory duties.
Final legislative stage resolving Lords and Commons differences, completing passage of the Online Safety Act 2023.
Third Reading in the Lords with Scottish and Welsh legislative consent granted, immediately preceding Royal Assent.
Commons consideration of Lords amendments including on Ofcom's general duties, a key stage in finalising the Act's scope.
Directly implements the OSA's provisions on Ofcom's funding and enforcement penalties against regulated platforms.
Directly implements OSA information powers provisions, including new duties relevant to bereaved families and coroners.
Why linked: The Act was introduced and passed by the Conservative government with Michelle Donelan and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay as sponsoring ministers.
Why linked: A written question references the Government's commitment in March 2026 to achieve regulatory parity for pornography under the OSA framework.
Direction: to_committee
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help prevent cyber harassment in online gaming communities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has commissioned research on the (a) scale and (b) impact of misogynistic online content.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to coordinate with international partners to address the cross-border spread of misogynistic online content.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of online safety protections for vulnerable adults, including neurodivergent adults such as those with autism and ADHD; and whether she
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking steps to prevent and restrict social media sites from being used for child sex trafficking activity.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2026, to Question 112303, on online censorship of women's health, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of censorship by …
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Government's commitment in March 2026 to achieve regulatory parity for pornography, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the role of a statutory …
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on progress on its investigation into Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and harmful online content.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what action has been taken since she met with a group of bereaved families on 19th January to stop UK users accessing a suicide forum responsible for over 135 …
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the issue of online platforms facilitating information on how to conduct abuse against women, including drug-facilitated sexual assault, especially within intimate partner relationships.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what consideration the Government has given to introducing further regulations on social media companies to address the prevalence of hate speech online.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what regulatory steps her Department has taken to prevent technology companies from profiting from online scam advertisements.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps her Department has taken to tackle online scam advertising on social media.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department is taking steps to hold online platforms accountable for fraudulent advertising on their services prior to the full implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Government plans to bring forward further legislation to help prevent and hold online platforms accountable for the monetisation of hate-driven engagement.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the sufficiency of Ofcom's sufficient powers and resources to tackle a specific website linked to over 135 UK deaths and to prevent future …
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of its powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 to tackle a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK …
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the adequacy of the pace of its ongoing investigation of a suicide forum that grooms users to die by suicide.
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that technology companies comply with duties under the Online Safety Act to prevent fraud.
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