UK Online Safety Act: Difference between revisions

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The Online Safety Act is a "Bill to make provision for and in connection with the regulation by Ofcom of certain internet services; for and in connection with communications offences; and for connected purposes."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-19 |title=Online Safety Act 2023 |url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3137 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=UK Parliament: Parliamentary Bills}}</ref>

The Online Safety Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023, following five years of work by Carnegie UK, working in concert with over 50 partners. In 2018, Carnegie UK published a series of blogs by William Perrin and Professor Lorna Woods, outlining the proposal for social media regulation. The UK Government published its [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper White Paper] on 8 April 2019, tackling online harm, with a duty of care approach at its core. Carnegie UK ended their work on the Online Safety Act in October 2023.<ref name="online-safety-and-carnegie-uk">{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Sarah |date=26 October 2023 |title=Online safety and Carnegie UK |url=https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701203854/https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-date=2025-07-01 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Carnegie UK}}</ref>

The Online Safety Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023, following five years of work by Carnegie UK, working in concert with over 50 partners. In 2018, Carnegie UK published a series of blogs by William Perrin and Professor Lorna Woods, outlining the proposal for social media regulation. The UK Government published its [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper White Paper] on 8 April 2019, tackling online harm, with a duty of care approach at its core. Carnegie UK ended their work on the Online Safety Act in October 2023.<ref name="online-safety-and-carnegie-uk">{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Sarah |date=26 October 2023 |title=Online safety and Carnegie UK |url=https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701203854/https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-date=2025-07-01 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Carnegie UK}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Kate |date=August 7, 2025| title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship| url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/ |website=Novara Media |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref>

The bill was sponsored by Michelle Donelan, the (now former) Conservative MP for Chippenham and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, a current member of the House of Lords. Both on behalf of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. <ref name=":4" />

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==The impact==

Since the UK Online Safety Act applies to search services and services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other, <ref name=":2" /> it has a broad impact across the entire internet for those accessing websites from within the UK. All online services that Ofcom deems to be within the scope of the Online Safety Act must incorporate an identity verification process to determine each user's age.<ref name=":3" /> This has forced many websites to geo-block the UK because they are too small to justify or afford implementing their own the identity verification process or partnering with a third provider. A list of affected websites is available on [https://OnlineSafetyAct.co.uk OnlineSafetyAct.co.uk].

The broad range of the act has caused content from breaking news,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Koopman |first=Saskia |date=August 13, 2025 |title=Why the Online Safety Act has become a political nightmare |url=https://www.cityam.com/why-labours-online-safety-act-has-become-a-political-nightmare/ |website=City AM |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref> war footages,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maiberg |first=Emanuel |date=July 29, 2025 |title=UK Users Need to Post Selfie or Photo ID to View Reddit's r/IsraelCrimes, r/UkraineWarFootage |url=https://www.404media.co/uk-users-need-to-post-selfie-or-photo-id-to-view-reddits-r-israelcrimes-r-ukrainewarfootage/ |website=404 Media |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref> and political videos<ref name=":6" /> to be heavily suppressed and labelled "harmful".

===Spotify===

To view age-restricted content on [[Spotify]], users in the UK are now asked for facial scanning; if that fails, ID verification can only correct the error.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Samantha |title=Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content |url=https://www.404media.co/spotify-uk-age-check-verification-yoti/ |access-date=3 August 2025 |work=404 Media |date=30 July 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250730160610/https://www.404media.co/spotify-uk-age-check-verification-yoti/ |archive-date=30 July 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

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==Consumer response==

United Kingdom saw an increased VPN usage by 1400 percent.<ref name="UK_VPN">{{Cite web |last=Speed |first=Richard |date=July 28, 2025 |title=UK VPN demand soars after debut of Online Safety Act |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/uk_vpn_demand_soars/ |access-date=August 15, 2025 |website=The Register}}</ref> As of August 16, 2025, there has been at least 500 thousand signatures petitioning to repeal the act.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Baynham |first=Alex |date=2025-04-22 |title=Repeal the Online Safety Act |url=https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903 |website=Petitions: UK Government and Parliament}}</ref>

According to analysis by Cloudwards, [[Google]] searches for "how to get around age verification" and "is VPN legal in the UK" saw a massive growth of over 450 thousand and 380 thousand percent respectively.<ref name=":5" /> United Kingdom saw an increased VPN usage by 1400 percent.<ref name="UK_VPN">{{Cite web |last=Speed |first=Richard |date=July 28, 2025 |title=UK VPN demand soars after debut of Online Safety Act |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/uk_vpn_demand_soars/ |access-date=August 15, 2025 |website=The Register}}</ref> As of August 16, 2025, there has been at least 500 thousand signatures petitioning to repeal the act.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Baynham |first=Alex |date=2025-04-22 |title=Repeal the Online Safety Act |url=https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903 |website=Petitions: UK Government and Parliament}}</ref>

===SafetyAct.co.uk===

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==Industry expert response==

The act has been [https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/internet-fragmentation/uk-online-safety-act/ opposed] as early as December 2023 by Internet Society.

===Electronic Frontier Foundation===

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==References==

[[Category:Legislation in Europe]]

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 The Online Safety Act is a "Bill to make provision for and in connection with the regulation by Ofcom of certain internet services; for and in connection with communications offences; and for connected purposes."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-19 |title=Online Safety Act 2023 |url=https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3137 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=UK Parliament: Parliamentary Bills}}</ref>
-The Online Safety Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023, following five years of work by Carnegie UK, working in concert with over 50 partners. In 2018, Carnegie UK published a series of blogs by William Perrin and Professor Lorna Woods, outlining the proposal for social media regulation. The UK Government published its [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper White Paper] on 8 April 2019, tackling online harm, with a duty of care approach at its core. Carnegie UK ended their work on the Online Safety Act in October 2023.<ref name="online-safety-and-carnegie-uk">{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Sarah |date=26 October 2023 |title=Online safety and Carnegie UK |url=https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701203854/https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-date=2025-07-01 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Carnegie UK}}</ref>
+The Online Safety Act received royal assent on 26 October 2023, following five years of work by Carnegie UK, working in concert with over 50 partners. In 2018, Carnegie UK published a series of blogs by William Perrin and Professor Lorna Woods, outlining the proposal for social media regulation. The UK Government published its [https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/online-harms-white-paper White Paper] on 8 April 2019, tackling online harm, with a duty of care approach at its core. Carnegie UK ended their work on the Online Safety Act in October 2023.<ref name="online-safety-and-carnegie-uk">{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Sarah |date=26 October 2023 |title=Online safety and Carnegie UK |url=https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250701203854/https://carnegieuk.org/blog/online-safety-and-carnegie-uk/ |archive-date=2025-07-01 |access-date=2025-08-17 |website=Carnegie UK}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Sim |first=Kate |date=August 7, 2025| title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship| url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/ |website=Novara Media |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref>
 The bill was sponsored by Michelle Donelan, the (now former) Conservative MP for Chippenham and Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, a current member of the House of Lords. Both on behalf of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. <ref name=":4" />
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ==The impact==
 Since the UK Online Safety Act applies to search services and services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other, <ref name=":2" /> it has a broad impact across the entire internet for those accessing websites from within the UK. All online services that Ofcom deems to be within the scope of the Online Safety Act must incorporate an identity verification process to determine each user's age.<ref name=":3" /> This has forced many websites to geo-block the UK because they are too small to justify or afford implementing their own the identity verification process or partnering with a third provider. A list of affected websites is available on [https://OnlineSafetyAct.co.uk OnlineSafetyAct.co.uk].
+The broad range of the act has caused content from breaking news,<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Koopman |first=Saskia |date=August 13, 2025 |title=Why the Online Safety Act has become a political nightmare |url=https://www.cityam.com/why-labours-online-safety-act-has-become-a-political-nightmare/ |website=City AM  |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref> war footages,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Maiberg |first=Emanuel |date=July 29, 2025 |title=UK Users Need to Post Selfie or Photo ID to View Reddit's r/IsraelCrimes, r/UkraineWarFootage |url=https://www.404media.co/uk-users-need-to-post-selfie-or-photo-id-to-view-reddits-r-israelcrimes-r-ukrainewarfootage/ |website=404 Media  |access-date=August 25, 2025}}</ref> and political videos<ref name=":6" /> to be heavily suppressed and labelled "harmful".
 ===Spotify===
 To view age-restricted content on [[Spotify]], users in the UK are now asked for facial scanning; if that fails, ID verification can only correct the error.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Samantha |title=Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content |url=https://www.404media.co/spotify-uk-age-check-verification-yoti/ |access-date=3 August 2025 |work=404 Media |date=30 July 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250730160610/https://www.404media.co/spotify-uk-age-check-verification-yoti/ |archive-date=30 July 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
@@ Line 54: / Line 57: @@
 ==Consumer response==
-United Kingdom saw an increased VPN usage by 1400 percent.<ref name="UK_VPN">{{Cite web |last=Speed |first=Richard |date=July 28, 2025 |title=UK VPN demand soars after debut of Online Safety Act |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/uk_vpn_demand_soars/ |access-date=August 15, 2025 |website=The Register}}</ref> As of August 16, 2025, there has been at least 500 thousand signatures petitioning to repeal the act.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Baynham |first=Alex |date=2025-04-22 |title=Repeal the Online Safety Act |url=https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903 |website=Petitions: UK Government and Parliament}}</ref>
+According to analysis by Cloudwards, [[Google]] searches for "how to get around age verification" and "is VPN legal in the UK" saw a massive growth of over 450 thousand and 380 thousand percent respectively.<ref name=":5" /> United Kingdom saw an increased VPN usage by 1400 percent.<ref name="UK_VPN">{{Cite web |last=Speed |first=Richard |date=July 28, 2025 |title=UK VPN demand soars after debut of Online Safety Act |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/uk_vpn_demand_soars/ |access-date=August 15, 2025 |website=The Register}}</ref> As of August 16, 2025, there has been at least 500 thousand signatures petitioning to repeal the act.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Baynham |first=Alex |date=2025-04-22 |title=Repeal the Online Safety Act |url=https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903 |website=Petitions: UK Government and Parliament}}</ref>
 ===SafetyAct.co.uk===
@@ Line 63: / Line 66: @@
 ==Industry expert response==
+The act has been [https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/internet-fragmentation/uk-online-safety-act/ opposed] as early as December 2023 by Internet Society.
 ===Electronic Frontier Foundation===
@@ Line 102: / Line 106: @@
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+<!-- https://www.techdirt.com/2025/08/04/didnt-take-long-to-reveal-the-uks-online-safety-act-is-exactly-the-privacy-crushing-failure-everyone-warned-about/ -->
 [[Category:Legislation in Europe]]