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A new era in online safety?

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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

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Arc Pensions Law—Matthew Swynnerton

Chair of the Association of Pension Lawyers joins as partner

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Ampa Group—Kamal Chauhan

Group names Shakespeare Martineau partner head of Sheffield office

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Blake Morgan—four promotions

Four legal directors promoted to partner across UK offices

NEWS

The abolition of assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions marks the beginning of a ‘brave new world’ for England’s rental sector, writes Daniel Bacon of Seddons GSC

Stephen Gold’s latest Civil Way column rounds up a flurry of procedural and regulatory changes reshaping housing, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and personal injury litigation
Patients are being systematically failed by an NHS complaints regime that is opaque, poorly enforced and often stacked against them, argues Charles Davey of The Barrister Group
A wealthy Russian divorce battle has produced a sharp warning about trying to challenge foreign nuptial agreements in the wrong English court. Writing in NLJ this week, Vanessa Friend and Robert Jackson of Hodge Jones & Allen examine Timokhin v Timokhina, where the High Court enforced Russian judgments arising from a prenuptial agreement despite arguments based on the landmark Radmacher decision
An obscure Victorian tort may be heading for an unexpected revival after a significant Privy Council ruling that could reshape liability for dangerous escapes, according to Richard Buckley, barrister and emeritus professor of law at the University of Reading
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