Guide
Write terms of service that meet Online Safety Act requirements
How to draft or update your platform's terms of service to comply with Online Safety Act 2023 duties. Covers required content, prohibited content policies, enforcement, accessibility, and Category 1 additional obligations.
The Online Safety Act 2023 requires regulated services to have clear, accessible terms of service that explain how the platform handles harmful and illegal content. Your terms are not just a legal document — Ofcom treats them as a public commitment to users about what content is and is not permitted, and how you enforce those rules.
If your terms of service do not accurately reflect your actual moderation practices, or if you fail to enforce the policies stated in your terms, Ofcom can take enforcement action. Category 1 services face additional duties around transparency, freedom of expression, and journalistic content.
How to write compliant terms of service
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1. Define prohibited content categories clearly
List the specific types of content that are not permitted on your service. At minimum, cover all priority illegal content categories from Schedule 7 of the Act. Use plain language — avoid legal jargon that users cannot understand. For each category, give a brief description and, where helpful, examples of what would and would not be caught.
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2. Explain your enforcement actions
Set out what happens when content or an account breaches your terms. Describe the range of actions you may take — content removal, account warnings, temporary suspension, permanent ban — and the circumstances in which each applies. Be specific about timelines: how quickly you aim to act on reports and how long suspensions last.
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3. Describe your user reporting mechanism
Explain how users can report content or accounts they believe violate your terms or the law. Include the reporting channels available (in-app button, email, web form), what information users should provide, and what acknowledgement they will receive. Make clear that users can report illegal content separately from terms of service violations.
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4. Include your complaints procedure
Your terms must direct users to your complaints process for challenging moderation decisions. This is a separate requirement from content reporting — it covers situations where a user disagrees with a decision you have made about their content or account.
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5. Make terms accessible and understandable
Write in clear, simple English. Ofcom expects terms to be understandable by the users of your service, including children if your service is likely to be accessed by them. Use headings, bullet points, and summaries. Avoid burying important information in dense legal text. Consider providing a summary version alongside the full terms.
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6. Address Category 1 obligations (if applicable)
If your service meets Category 1 thresholds, your terms must include specific protections for democratic content, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance. You must explain how you protect freedom of expression when making moderation decisions and set out your appeals process for content removal. These obligations require a more nuanced approach than a simple list of prohibited content.
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7. Commit to consistent enforcement
State in your terms that you will apply your policies consistently to all users. Ofcom will assess whether your actual enforcement matches what your terms promise. If you say content will be removed within 24 hours, you must demonstrate that this happens in practice. Build in review mechanisms to check enforcement consistency.
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8. Review and update regularly
Your terms must reflect your current moderation practices and Ofcom's latest codes of practice. Review your terms whenever Ofcom publishes new guidance, when you change your moderation systems, or at least annually. Notify users of material changes and give them reasonable notice before new terms take effect.
What happens next
Publish your updated terms prominently on your service — they must be easy to find, not hidden behind multiple clicks. Keep a version history so you can demonstrate to Ofcom how your terms have evolved. Monitor whether your moderation practices match your published terms, as inconsistency is one of the most common enforcement triggers.