UK Online Safety Act Transparency Reporting

Section 77 requires Ofcom, once a year, to give every provider of a relevant service a transparency notice. A relevant service is a Category 1, Category 2A, or Category 2B service. The provider must produce and publish the report by the date and in the manner specified in the notice.

Ofcom published final transparency guidance in July 2025 and its categorised-services register on 30 June 2026, most recently updated on 28 September 2026. Ofcom's implementation roadmap says categorised services will publish their first transparency reports in 2027 and that a further timeline update will follow the register. Providers should use the actual notice as the controlling deadline rather than infer a date from an older roadmap.

Schedule 8 lists possible subjects. They include the incidence and dissemination of illegal content and content harmful to children; systems for risk assessment, reporting, complaints, moderation, user support, age assurance, and compliance; the use and effect of algorithms; cooperation with public authorities; staff and resourcing; and other listed safety and governance matters.

The notice determines which permitted matters apply to the service. Do not assume that every Schedule 8 item will be required, or substitute a voluntary environmental, social, and governance report. Where a requested figure cannot be measured directly, document the method, limitations, estimation, and quality checks rather than presenting an unsupported number as exact.

Treat the public report as a regulated output. Review it for consistency with risk assessments, terms, complaints data, published policies, prior submissions, and the actual service. Preserve approvals, the publication URL and time, the exact published file, accessibility checks, and evidence that it remained available as required.

If an error is found, assess materiality, notify the responsible legal and reporting owners, preserve the original, and follow the notice and Ofcom guidance for correction or communication. Do not overwrite the record without a dated explanation. A transparency report does not replace records that Ofcom may request under other powers.