UK OSACompliance Hub
UK Online Safety Act Scope, Duties, and Implementation
This hub is built around the live implementation sequence for the UK Online Safety Act. It covers service scope, illegal content duties, child access and child risk assessments, age assurance, moderation and complaints design, categorised service duties, and Ofcom enforcement exposure.
Use the root timeline and decision flow first. Then use the subpages to work from the real implementation milestones: the Act passed on 26 October 2023, criminal offences took effect on 31 January 2024, illegal harms codes were approved on 16 December 2024, section 81 took effect on 17 January 2025, and services likely to be accessed by children had until 24 July 2025 to complete their children's risk assessment.
Start with the applicability testPublication details
Editorial metadata for this artifact
Author
Sorena AI
Published
Feb 21, 2026
Updated
Feb 21, 2026
What you can decide faster
Scope and service model
Test regulated user-to-user, search, and provider pornography scenarios before you promise dates or controls.
Duty sequencing
Separate illegal content, child access, child safety, complaints, terms, transparency, and categorised service duties.
Ofcom readiness
Build the evidence pack for risk assessments, control design, terms enforcement, and regulator responses.
By Sorena AIGrounded in UK OSA, GOV.UK, Ofcom, and ICO materialsUpdated March 2026
Implementation focus
UK OSAScope and exclusions
Start with sections 3 to 5, Schedule 1 exemptions, and the service-specific child-access test.
Live deadlines
Track the 16 March 2025 illegal risk assessment deadline, the 16 April 2025 child access assessment deadline, and the 24 July 2025 child risk assessment deadline.
Evidence and enforcement
Prepare for Ofcom information notices, complaints process scrutiny, terms enforcement checks, and penalties.
Use the decision flow first, then move into the specific duty pages and templates for execution.
26 Oct 2023
Act passed
16 Mar 2025
Illegal risk deadline
24 Jul 2025
Child risk deadline
Cat 1 2A 2B
Categories
Illegal harms
Child safety
Age assurance
Online Safety Timeline
Key dates for UK OSA implementation
Track milestones that shape duties, codes, and operational readiness so legal, policy, trust and safety, and engineering teams can execute in sync.
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Online Safety Decision Flow
How do Online Safety Act duties apply to your service model
Follow the flow from service scope and categorization to duty-specific implementation patterns, then execute via topic guides, templates, and checklists.
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Topic guides
Deep dive pages for implementation planning, controls, reporting, and evidence.
1
UK Online Safety Act Age Assurance Options | Age Estimation, Verification, and Child Access Controls
Grounded age assurance guide for the UK Online Safety Act covering January 2025 pornography guidance, highly effective age assurance.
Read Guide
2
UK Online Safety Act Applicability Test | Regulated Service, Exemptions, and UK Scope
Grounded UK Online Safety Act applicability test covering regulated user-to-user and search services, Schedule 1 exemptions, provider pornography scope.
Read Guide
3
UK Online Safety Act Checklist | Scope, Risk, Child Safety, Moderation, and Evidence
Audit-ready UK Online Safety Act checklist covering service scope, illegal risk assessment, child access and child risk assessment, moderation, complaints.
Read Guide
4
UK Online Safety Act Children Safety Duties | Child Access, Child Risk, and Age Assurance
Grounded guide to UK Online Safety Act children safety duties covering section 81 timing, children access assessments, children risk assessments.
Read Guide
5
UK Online Safety Act Compliance Program | Governance, Controls, and Ofcom Readiness
Program design guide for UK Online Safety Act compliance covering governance, scope, assessments, moderation, age assurance, complaints, metrics.
Read Guide
6
UK Online Safety Act Content Moderation and Appeals | Complaints, Terms Enforcement, and Redress
Grounded guide to UK Online Safety Act moderation and appeals requirements covering sections 21, 32, 71, and 72, complaints design, terms enforcement.
Read Guide
7
UK Online Safety Act Deadlines and Compliance Calendar | 2023 to 2026 Milestones
Grounded UK Online Safety Act calendar covering 26 October 2023 enactment, 31 January 2024 offences, 16 December 2024 illegal harms codes.
Read Guide
8
UK Online Safety Act Enforcement and Penalties | Ofcom Notices, Penalties, and Escalation
Grounded UK Online Safety Act enforcement guide covering Ofcom information notices, senior manager naming, confirmation decisions.
Read Guide
9
UK Online Safety Act FAQ | Scope, Child Duties, Categories, and Ofcom Enforcement
Practical FAQ on the UK Online Safety Act covering who is in scope, what changed in 2025, child access and risk assessments, age assurance, category duties.
Read Guide
10
UK Online Safety Act Illegal Content Duties | Illegal Harms, Priority Offences, and Risk Assessments
Grounded guide to UK Online Safety Act illegal content duties covering user-to-user and search services, illegal content risk assessments.
Read Guide
11
UK Online Safety Act Penalties and Fines | GBP 18 Million, 10 Percent Revenue, and Liability
Grounded penalty guide for the UK Online Safety Act covering the GBP 18 million or 10 percent worldwide revenue cap.
Read Guide
12
UK Online Safety Act Requirements | Sections, Deadlines, Controls, and Evidence
Detailed UK Online Safety Act requirements guide mapping scope, illegal content duties, child safety duties, terms enforcement, complaints, categorisation.
Read Guide
13
UK Online Safety Act Risk Assessment Template | Illegal Content and Child Safety Template
Practical UK Online Safety Act risk assessment template covering service profile, harms inventory, controls, residual risk, child access, child safety.
Read Guide
14
UK Online Safety Act Risk Assessments Playbook | How to Run Illegal and Children Risk Reviews
Operational playbook for UK Online Safety Act risk assessments covering sequencing, ownership, evidence collection, control design.
Read Guide
15
UK Online Safety Act Service Scope and Categorization | Category 1, 2A, 2B, and Part 3 Logic
Grounded service scope and categorisation guide for the UK Online Safety Act covering Part 3 logic, likely to be accessed by children, Category 1, 2A.
Read Guide
16
UK Online Safety Act vs EU Digital Services Act | Scope, Child Safety, and Enforcement Differences
Practical comparison of the UK Online Safety Act and the EU Digital Services Act covering regulated service models, illegal content frameworks.
Read Guide
Next step
Turn UK Online Safety Act Scope, Duties, and Implementation into an operational assessment workflow
UK Online Safety Act Scope, Duties, and Implementation should be the shared entry point for your team. Route execution into Assessment Autopilot for live work and into Research Copilot when the artifact needs deeper research, evidence governance, or supporting analysis.
What this unlocks
- Start from UK Online Safety Act Scope, Duties, and Implementation and route the work by entity, product, team, or control owner.
- Use Assessment Autopilot to turn the guidance into owned tasks, evidence requests, and review checkpoints.
- Use Research Copilot to answer scope, timing, and interpretation questions with cited outputs.
- Move from artifact reading to accountable execution without rebuilding the guidance in separate files.
Recommended route
Open Assessment Autopilot
Turn the guidance into owned tasks, evidence requests, and review checkpoints for UK Online Safety Act Scope, Duties, and Implementation.
Supporting route
Open Research Copilot
Answer scope, timing, and interpretation questions with cited outputs from the same artifact.
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