United Kingdom: Implemented Online Safety Act including new oversight powers for Ofcom

On 10 January 2024, the Online Safety Act was implemented. The Act gives the Office of Communications (Ofcom) the authority to enforce the new requirements outlined in the Act, including ongoing regulatory supervision of online services and imposing fines. Further, Ofcom will be able to issue provisions to implement the regulation and will be required to issue codes of practice on the existing duties. In particular, Ofcom has announced an Implementation Roadmap for the Act, which includes three phases. The first phase involves a consultation on illegal content, including child sexual abuse material, terrorist content and fraud. The second phase involves consultations on draft guidance for services that host pornographic content, consultations relating to child safety duties under the Act, and a draft guidance on protecting women and girls. Finally, the third phase involves additional duties for categorised services that meet certain criteria related to the number of users or high-risk features of their service, a draft code of practice on fraudulent advertising and transparency notices.