EveryAILaw.comUK Online Safety Act 2023
Obligations Covered
Timeline
| Milestone | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Assent | Oct 26, 2023 | Online Safety Act 2023; Part 1 interpretive sections in force immediately (s.240(4)) |
| Duty provisions commenced | Jan 10, 2024 | S.I. 2023/1420 — illegal content, children's safety and transparency duties in Parts 3-4 |
| Further commencement | Jan 31, 2024 | S.I. 2024/31 — enforcement and information powers |
| Children's safety codes | 2025-04 | Ofcom codes of practice |
| Phased enforcement ongoing | 2025-2026 | Additional duties rolling out |
Related Regulations and Standards
Related instruments are selected from shared compliance obligations and jurisdiction coverage.
AI-Generated Content Duties #
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Illegal content duty | Platforms must address AI-generated illegal content (deepfakes, CSAM) |
| Children's safety | Prevent AI-generated or amplified content harmful to children |
| Risk assessment | Platforms must assess risks from AI-generated content |
| Transparency reports | Annual transparency reports on content moderation including AI systems |
Penalties
| Violation | Fine |
|---|---|
| Non-compliance | Up to GBP 18M or 10% global turnover |
| Senior manager liability | Criminal liability for senior managers in certain cases |
Sources: Online Safety Act 2023
Risk Assessment for AI Systems #
Part 3 Chapter 2 duties, covering user-to-user services only; the parallel search-service duties sit in Chapter 3 (ss.26, 28) and are tracked separately. Both sections commenced 10 Jan 2024 (S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(c), (d)), but Ofcom compliance deadlines fell later — illegal-harms risk assessments due 16 Mar 2025, children's risk assessments due 24 Jul 2025.
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Illegal content risk assessment | Assess risks of AI systems generating or amplifying illegal content |
| Children's risk assessment | Assess risks of AI-generated content reaching children |
| Mitigation measures | Implement proportionate measures to mitigate identified risks |
Penalties
| Violation | Fine |
|---|---|
| Non-compliance | Up to GBP 18M or 10% global turnover |
Sources: Online Safety Act 2023
Risk Assessment for Search Services #
Part 3 Chapter 3 mirrors the Chapter 2 user-to-user duties for search services, but the assessed risks are search-specific: s.26(5)(a) requires risks presented by the service's algorithms and by the way it indexes, organises and presents search results, and s.28(5)(c) names predictive search functionality explicitly. That makes these the duties that bite on AI-driven ranking and AI-generated search summaries. Both sections commenced 10 Jan 2024 (S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(j)).
Requirements
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Illegal content risk assessment | Suitable and sufficient assessment of the risk of users encountering priority and other illegal content in search content, taking into account risks presented by the service's algorithms and by how it indexes, organises and presents results (s.26(2), (5)(a)) |
| Children's risk assessment | Where the service is likely to be accessed by children, a further assessment covering primary priority, priority and non-designated content harmful to children, with separate consideration by age group and explicit assessment of predictive search functionality (s.28(2), (5)(a), (5)(c)) |
| Keep assessments current | Duty to keep each assessment up to date, including when Ofcom significantly changes an applicable risk profile (ss.26(3), 28(3)) |
| Reassess before significant change | Further assessment before any significant change to the design or operation of the service, covering the impacts of that change (ss.26(4), 28(4)) |
| Assessment timing | Assessments carried out at the times set out in Schedule 3 |
| Records | Records of risk assessments kept under s.34(2) and (9) |
Penalties
| Violation | Fine |
|---|---|
| Non-compliance | Greater of GBP 18M or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (Sch. 13 para. 4) |
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