UK Act of Parliament 2023 United Kingdom

Online Safety Act 2023

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At a glance

Enforced by

Ofcom, BBFC

What's here

77 compliance obligations, 21 practical guides across 2 topics · 7 journeys

Penalty landscape

13 of 77 obligations carry up to 2 years imprisonment. 13 carry different penalties and 51 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Any Person 39
  • Director or Officer 4

Plus 34 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

13 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

8 guides
View all 21 guides →

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — Introduction

Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 2 — Key definitions

Browse 3 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Providers of regulated user-to-user services and regulated search services: duties of care

s.040

Fraud etc offences

Unlimited fine
  • Commit fraud or related financial offences Any Person
s.041

Codes of practice about duties

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom must issue codes of practice for online safety duties Statutory regulator
s.046

Publication of codes of practice

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom must publish and update Online Safety codes of practice Statutory regulator
s.050

Effects of codes of practice

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom and courts must consider codes of practice in legal proceedings Statutory regulator
Browse 40 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 4 — Other duties of providers of regulated user-to-user services and regulated search services

Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 5 — Duties of providers of regulated services: certain pornographic content

Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 6 — Duties of providers of regulated services: fees

Browse 7 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 7 — OFCOM's powers and duties in relation to regulated services

s.096

Duty to maintain register

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom must maintain and update the register of regulated online services Statutory regulator
s.123

Warning notices

Amended 2 times
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom must issue a warning notice before ordering content technology use Statutory regulator
s.154

Information for research about online safety matters

Amended 2 times
Browse 4 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 8 — Appeals and super-complaints

Part 9 — Secretary of State's functions in relation to regulated services

Part 10 — Communications offences

Part 11 — Supplementary and general

s.207

Publication by OFCOM

Amended 1 time
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Ofcom must publish information in a way that reaches affected parties Statutory regulator

Part 12 — Interpretation and final provisions

Schedules

Browse 16 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

Ofcom

Primary

Office of Communications

Regulates telecoms, TV, radio, video-on-demand, postal services, and online safety. Issues licences for telecoms providers, manages spectrum. Now enforces Online Safety Act …

BBFC

British Board of Film Classification

Classifies films, videos, and some video games for age rating. Statutory authority for classifying cinema releases and video works under the Video …

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Browse legislation

Find other UK business legislation with related guidance.

Regulators

Learn more about the bodies that enforce this legislation.