Ofcom, the UK's communications regulator, has begun enforcing the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA), which is designed to protect internet users from illegal content and harmful online activity.
Starting Monday, social media companies, search engines, and messaging apps are required to implement robust measures to remove illegal material and mitigate associated risks quickly. Technology companies falling under the scope of the OSA were required to complete compulsory illegal content risk assessments by the weekend to identify the likelihood of users encountering illegal content in 17 separate categories ranging from terrorism, child sexual abuse, suicide encouragement, stalking, drug offences, and fraud.
In addition, platforms must implement safety measures, including naming a senior executive accountable for compliance, improving moderation, simplifying reporting, and conducting built-in safety tests. They are also required to ensure well-resourced and trained moderation teams, set performance targets for rapid removal of illegal content, and test algorithms to limit the spread of such material.
Prioritising larger platforms first, Ofcom will now begin assessing platform compliance and initiating enforcement actions against those failing to meet their obligations.
In related news, On Monday, Ofcom launched an enforcement programme concerning the "measures being taken by file-sharing and file-storage providers to prevent offenders from encountering or sharing CSAM on their services." According to The Telegraph, the regulator is planning to target X and Meta's platforms for failing to prevent the spread of CSAM.
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