United Kingdom: Protection of Children Code of Practice for search services entered into force

On 25 July 2025, the Protection of Children Code of Practice for regulated search services comes into force, as required under section 41 of the Online Safety Act 2023, following its submission to the Secretary of State by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) on 24 April 2025. The Code imposes specific duties on search service providers to implement measures addressing content that is harmful to children, including requirements for governance and accountability arrangements, search moderation systems, content reporting mechanisms, complaints procedures, user support functionalities, and publicly available safety statements, in accordance with sections 25(1) and 30 of the Act. All regulated search services must now demonstrate compliance with the safety duties protecting children, having completed their child risk assessments by 24 July 2025 and implemented the necessary technical and operational measures by 25 July 2025, with non-compliance subject to regulatory action by Ofcom under its statutory powers.