Illegal and harmful content

Guidance on the duty for service providers to report child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) content under the Online Safety Act, and what to do to comply.

As the UK’s online safety watchdog, Ofcom regulates more than 100,000 companies, many of which are based entirely outside the UK. This does not mean they are outside the scope of the Online Safety Act. As in other industries, companies that provide an online service to people in the UK must comply with UK laws, regardless of where they are based.

Changes made by a suicide forum located outside the UK to block access to people in the UK are the fullest extent of what can be achieved under the Online Safety Act, we have now announced.

We are investigating whether a provider of an online suicide discussion forum has failed/is failing to comply with its duties under the Online Safety Act 2023.

Ofcom has today opened an investigation to understand whether TikTok Information Technologies UK Limited has failed, or is failing, to comply with certain duties under section 12 of the Online Safety Act 2023.

This report assesses how sites and apps use age checks to protect children from online harm.

Ofcom has commissioned research with adults and professionals to improve its understanding of how adults engage with and are affected by suicide, self-harm and eating disorder content.

This consultation is part of the third phase of Ofcom’s implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023, which focuses on bringing greater transparency, accountability and user choice some of the most widely used online services in the UK.

The published register of categorised services sets out which services are categorised and are therefore subject to additional duties under the Act.

Our plans for putting online safety laws into practice, and what we expect from tech firms.