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Online Safety Act implementation

Lifecycle: Response Published Competition and Markets Authority · Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology · Home Office · Ministry of Justice · Ofcom Last regenerated 2 days ago

Summary

What this is

The Online Safety Act 2023 established a comprehensive regulatory framework requiring online platforms to identify and mitigate harms to users, with Ofcom as the primary regulator responsible for issuing Codes of Practice, conducting investigations, and enforcing compliance across user-to-user services and search engines.

Why it matters

The Act represents the UK's primary legislative response to online harms including child sexual abuse, suicide promotion, cyber harassment, fraud, and misinformation; implementation failures carry direct public safety consequences and are subject to intense parliamentary scrutiny from bereaved families and civil society.

Current status

Implementation is ongoing through 2024–2026, with Ofcom progressing Codes of Practice, category threshold regulations now approved, fees and penalties regime established, and active investigations underway including into Kick Online Entertainment and a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths.

What changed recently

  • 29 Apr 2026 — Written questions tabled on cyber harassment in online gaming communities and the scale and impact of misogynistic online content. →
  • 28 Apr 2026 — Parliamentary research published on Screen Time and Social Media, relevant to OSA implementation debates. →
  • 27 Apr 2026 — Written question tabled on action taken following the Secretary of State's January 2026 meeting with bereaved families regarding a suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths. →
  • 24 Apr 2026 — Multiple written questions tabled on Ofcom's powers and pace of investigation into a suicide forum, and on platform accountability for online scam advertising and fraud. →
  • 9 Dec 2025 — Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 approved in the House of Lords. →

Key documents

Consultations

Political commitments

What parties and ministers have promised — manifesto pledges, King's Speech announcements, ministerial statements. Each card shows what was said, by whom, and when, with a link to the original source.

  • commitment Ministerial statement Conservative · 2023 · Online Safety Bill

    Online Safety Act 2023 enacted under Conservative government

    Why linked: The Act was introduced and passed by the Conservative government with Michelle Donelan and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay as sponsoring ministers.

    Source: Online Safety Bill · Original ↗
  • commitment Ministerial statement Labour · 2025 · To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with refe…

    Government commitment to achieve regulatory parity for pornography (March 2026)

    Why linked: A written question references the Government's commitment in March 2026 to achieve regulatory parity for pornography under the OSA framework.

    Source: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to t… · Original ↗

Open questions & gaps

Known gaps in the evidence base and what's still pending.

Pending in the lifecycle

  • Ofcom's investigation into Kick Online Entertainment S.A. and harmful online content — outcome and timeline not yet published.
  • Ofcom's investigation into the suicide forum linked to over 135 UK deaths — pace and adequacy of powers under active parliamentary scrutiny.
  • Government response to written questions on cyber harassment in gaming, misogynistic content research, and international coordination on cross-border harmful content (tabled April 2026, answers pending).
  • Implementation of age verification and child safety duties — statutory deadlines for platforms approaching through 2025–2026.
  • Regulatory parity for pornography — assessment of effectiveness of current OSA provisions following March 2026 government commitment.
  • Ofcom's Codes of Practice for illegal content and child safety — final versions and compliance deadlines for platforms.

Beyond the corpus

  • FOUND To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what further action the Government plans to take … · for gap: Government response to the Westminster Hall debate on OSA implementation (26 Fe… · 29 Apr 2026
  • MISSING Ofcom's Children's Safety Code of Practice — final published version — A key implementation deliverable under the OSA; multiple PQs and debates reference child safety duties but no final Code event appears on this thread.
  • MISSING Ofcom's Illegal Content Codes of Practice — final published version — Central to OSA implementation; expected to be finalised and published during 2024–2025 but not evidenced as an event on this thread.
  • MISSING DSIT or Ofcom annual report on OSA implementation progress — Given the scale of the regime and parliamentary interest, a formal progress report would be expected but is not present in the event list.

Confidence gaps

  • The specific content of Ofcom's investigation findings into Kick Online Entertainment is not available from the events listed.
  • The identity of the suicide forum referenced in multiple April 2026 PQs is not named in the parliamentary questions, limiting ability to track regulatory action.
  • The current minister responsible for OSA at DSIT (post-2024 election) is not explicitly named in the events; Baroness Jones of Whitchurch and Baroness Lloyd of Effra appear as Lords ministers but the Commons minister is unclear from the event list.
  • The outcome of the March 2026 government commitment on regulatory parity for pornography is not yet evidenced in the event list.