header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us

A new era in online safety?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All Rights Reserved.
25 July 2025 / Lucy Blake , Joanna Ludlam , Will Jones , Karam Jardaneh
Issue: 8126 / Categories: Features , Online safety , Technology , Social Media , Media , Child law
printer mail-detail
226388
What do global companies need to know about the Online Safety Act 2023? Lucy Blake, Joanna Ludlam, Will Jones & Karam Jardaneh explain
  • The UK’s Online Safety Act 2023 imposes sweeping duties on online platforms—including non-UK companies—to manage illegal and harmful content, with penalties up to £18m or 10% of global turnover.
  • Ofcom wields strong enforcement powers, including fines, blocking access to non-compliant services, and criminal liability for executives.

The United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is ushering in a transformative era in digital regulation—one that will be felt far beyond the UK’s borders. Coming into effect in stages throughout 2025, the legislation redefines how online platforms must address illegal and harmful content, raising the bar for safety and accountability across the internet.

Friday 25 July 2025 marks a critical moment in the Act’s implementation, as key provisions, including child safety duties and enforcement guidance, begin to take practical effect. It is arguably a moment of global reckoning for digital

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Big tech for small firms
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
NLJ this week: Presumption of capacity reaffirmed
The Court of Protection has ruled in Macpherson v Sunderland City Council that capacity must be presumed unless clearly rebutted. In this week's NLJ, Sam Karim KC and Sophie Hurst of Kings Chambers dissect the judgment and set out practical guidance for advisers faced with issues relating to retrospective capacity and/or assessments without an examination
NLJ this week: Justice delayed, justice denied
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
NLJ this week: The road ahead for employment rights
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
NLJ this week: SLAPPed shut?
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll