Online Safety Act 2023

The Online Safety Act 2023 outlines a new set of enforceable laws to protect both children and adults online
It gives the relevant Secretary of State the power, subject to parliamentary approval, to designate, suppress or record a wide range of speech and media deemed harmful
Online providers are now legally required to protect users from illegal harms, meaning social media companies and search services now have an increased responsibility for users’ safety on such platforms, particularly that of children and young people. The deadline for providers to risk assess illegal harms on their services is 31st March 2025
This must determine how likely it is that users could encounter illegal content on their service
A key new criminal offence added to the legislation is defined as ‘sending false information intended to cause non-trivial harm’. This encapsulates key components of misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, fake news and hate speech.
The Online Safety Act takes a proportionate approach to mis/disinformation
Services will be required to take steps to remove illegal disinformation content if they become aware of it on their services
Companies must deliver additional protections where their service is likely to be accessed by children – including protections against mis and disinformation