United Kingdom: Opened consultation on Ofcom Illegal Content Codes of Practice for search services

On 9 November 2023, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) opened a consultation on the illegal content Codes of Practice for search service providers under the Online Safety Act. The public consultation is open until 23 February 2024. Platforms are divided into two groups, with a large service being defined as having an average user base of more than 7 million per month in the UK and smaller services below the threshold. The draft subdivides the services into three different categories, low-risk, specific risk, and multi-risk. The recommended measures are structured thematically, with chapters covering specific areas such as governance and accountability, search moderation, reporting and complaints, publicly available statements, features, functionalities, and user support. Each measure in the Codes of Practice includes an "application" section detailing its scope and a table indexing the measures by their applicability to services, inclusion in relevant Codes, and related obligations.