Trying to track the staggered implementation of the UK Online Safety Act 2023 (“OSA”)? You are in safe hands here. See the latest updates and key dates below.

9 May 2025 Ofcom investigates two porn services under age assurance enforcement programme

Ofcom has announced that it is launching investigations into two pornographic services – Itai Tech Ltd and Score Internet Group LLC – under its age assurance enforcement programme. Both sites appear to have no effective age assurance in place and are therefore being investigated for a potential breach of their duties under the OSA. Highly effective age assurance duties for Part 5 services came into force in January 2025 and required services to act immediately to introduce effective age checks. Ofcom also requested that all Part 5 services provide details of their implementation timeline and a named point of contact, though certain services have failed to comply with this request and have not yet taken any steps to prevent children from accessing the pornographic material available on their services. Ofcom has stated that it will provide updates on the outcome of the investigations in due course.

24 April 2025Ofcom finalises child safety measures for sites and apps to introduce by July

Ofcom has finalised more than 40 practical measures for service providers to meet their duties under the Online Safety Act to protect children online. These measures include robust age checks, effective content moderation systems, and safer algorithm configurations, amongst others. They are designed to build on and complement the specific rules and requirements that Ofcom has already put in place to prevent children from encountering online pornography and to protect users from illegal online harms. Providers of services likely to be accessed by UK children must complete and record their children’s risk assessments by 24 July 2025 and implement safety measures to mitigate these risks by 25 July 2025.

9 April 2025Ofcom investigates online suicide forum

Ofcom launched its first investigation into an unnamed provider of an online suicide forum. The investigation will determine whether the service has failed to comply with its OSA duties, including: (a) putting appropriate safety measures in place to protect users from illegal content; (b) completing an illegal harms risk assessment and corresponding record-keeping duties; and (c) accurately responding to a statutory information request. Following several attempts by Ofcom to engage with the provider and an unsatisfactory response to a statutory information request. Ofcom has maintained that it will not hesitate to take enforcement action if the provider is found to be in breach of its OSA obligations (including imposing fines of up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater). Ofcom will publish a report from the investigation once it is concluded.

Other Topics