United Kingdom: Illegal content duties under Online Safety Act entered into force
Description
Illegal content duties under Online Safety Act entered into force
On 17 March 2025, the illegal content duties under the Online Safety Act (OSA) entered into force. The Office of Communications (Ofcom) issued illegal content Codes of Practice for user-to-user services that implement the OSA. Providers were required to carry out an illegal harm risk assessment by 16 March 2025, following which they must implement suitable measures to remove illegal content on their platforms and reduce the risk of this content appearing. Platforms must also provide reporting and complaints functions that users can easily find and use. Furthermore, platforms are required to test and refine their algorithms to reduce the spread of illegal content and implement automated hash matching to detect child sexual abuse material (CASM). They must also take down abusive materials, including intimate image abuse material ("revenge porn"), sexual exploitative material, and cyberflashing.
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