How Children's Access Assessment works under the UK Online Safety Act
Teams should treat Children's Access Assessment under the UK Online Safety Act as a source-linked operating decision: confirm whether the service is in scope and which illegal-content, children-safety, age-assurance, user-empowerment, transparency, complaints, risk-assessment, or Ofcom enforcement duty is triggered, assign the team that can change the process, and keep evidence showing the action and review trigger.
The safest first step is to classify the service, user-to-user/search functionality, child-access status, illegal-content risk, and Ofcom code mapping before assigning the Online Safety Act action.
- Write the UK Online Safety Act Children's Access Assessment decision in one sentence before drafting controls.
- Attach the UK Online Safety Act or ICO source URL and short quote to the Children's Access Assessment evidence record.
- Route unclear Children's Access Assessment cases to legal, privacy, security, or compliance review before launch.
Official GOV.UK source for Children's Access Assessment duties, child-safety codes, and related Ofcom guidance under the Online Safety Act.
ICO source for age-assurance and privacy considerations when Children's Access Assessment decisions affect child access or age checks.