Calendar (planned, date-driven)

Ofcom categorisation register: what platform operators need to know (July 2026)

Ofcom will publish the categorisation register in July 2026, identifying which online services fall into Category 1, Category 2A, and Category 2B under the Online Safety Act 2023. Categorised services face additional duties including transparency reporting, user empowerment tools, and fraudulent advertising prevention. Platform operators should prepare now.

Change event: Ofcom publishes categorisation register for Online Safety Act (July 2026) Effective 1 July 2026

What is changing

Ofcom will publish the categorisation register in July 2026, formally identifying which regulated services meet the threshold conditions for Category 1, Category 2A, or Category 2B under the Online Safety Act 2023.

The register was originally expected in 2025 but was delayed following a legal challenge by the Wikimedia Foundation against the Government's categorisation regulations (concluded August 2025). Ofcom will run a representations process in early 2026, giving services that meet the threshold conditions an opportunity to comment on provisional categorisation decisions before the register is finalised.

Once published, categorised services must comply with additional duties beyond the baseline illegal content and children's safety obligations that already apply to all regulated services.

Register publication
July 2026 (exact date to be confirmed by Ofcom)
Representations process
Early 2026 — services can comment on provisional categorisation
Transparency notices issued
Summer 2026 (after register publication)
Strengthened codes consultation
Alongside register publication (July 2026)
First transparency reports due
Summer 2027
Category 1 threshold
34 million UK users + content recommender, OR 7 million + recommender + sharing
Category 2A threshold
7 million UK search users (excluding vertical search engines)
Category 2B threshold
3 million UK users + direct messaging functionality

Who is affected

The categorisation register affects large platform operators whose services meet the user number thresholds set by the Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025, approved by Parliament on 24 February 2025.

Category 1 covers the largest user-to-user services: social media platforms, video sharing services, and other platforms with content recommender systems and large UK user bases.

Category 2A covers general search engines with 7 million or more UK users. Specialist vertical search engines limited to specific topics are excluded.

Category 2B covers user-to-user services with 3 million or more UK users that include private messaging functionality.

All other regulated services below these thresholds continue to have baseline duties for illegal content and children's safety, but are not affected by the additional categorised duties.

Additional duties for categorised services

Once a service appears on the categorisation register, it must comply with additional obligations beyond the baseline duties:

  • Transparency reporting: Categorised services must publish reports covering safety measures, content removal volumes, complaints outcomes, and algorithmic recommendation policies. First reports due summer 2027.
  • User empowerment (Category 1 only): Adult users must be given tools to filter content they do not wish to see, including legal but harmful content. Freedom of expression safeguards apply.
  • Fraudulent advertising prevention: Categorised services must take steps to prevent paid-for fraudulent advertising appearing on their platforms.
  • Enhanced terms of service: Category 1 services must specify how they protect freedom of expression, journalistic content, and content of democratic importance.
  • News publisher protections: Categorised services must protect news publisher content from arbitrary removal and give news publishers a dedicated complaints route.
  • Identity verification (Category 1 only): Users must be offered the option to verify their identity.

Strengthened codes of practice

Alongside the categorisation register, Ofcom will consult on strengthened codes of practice covering the additional duties for categorised services. These codes will set out recommended measures for compliance with user empowerment, fraudulent advertising, terms of service, and transparency obligations.

The consultation closed in October 2025, and Ofcom expects to publish the final strengthened codes in summer 2026. Services will have a compliance period after the codes are finalised — the exact length will be confirmed by Ofcom.

⚠️ Enforcement consequences

Failure to comply with additional duties once categorised can result in enforcement action by Ofcom, including fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue or GBP 18 million (whichever is greater). Ofcom can also impose business disruption measures including payment service restrictions, advertising bans, and ISP blocking orders. Senior managers face personal criminal liability for failing to cooperate with Ofcom investigations under section 110 of the Online Safety Act 2023.

❗ What you should do now

Before July 2026:

  • Assess whether your service is likely to meet Category 1, 2A, or 2B thresholds based on your UK user numbers
  • Review your current compliance with baseline duties (illegal content risk assessment, children's access assessment, content moderation, terms of service)
  • Prepare for additional obligations — start planning transparency reporting processes, user empowerment tools, and fraudulent advertising controls
  • Monitor Ofcom's representations process in early 2026 — if you expect to be categorised, engage with provisional decisions
  • Review your terms of service against the enhanced requirements for categorised services, particularly protections for journalistic and democratic content
  • Budget for potential Ofcom fees if your qualifying worldwide revenue exceeds GBP 250 million

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