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Why you must be ready now for the UK Online Safety Act

A teenage child looks at a screen of age-restricted content on a laptop screen.
Photo: Leon Neal/Getty Images

The act is a milestone piece of legislation and the regulator has signalled it will not hesitate to use new enforcement powers.

User-to-user, social media and online search platforms will have to implement systems to reduce the risk of their services being used in an illegal or harmful way under new provisions that come in to force this year.

The Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA), which sets out new laws aimed at protecting