2025-07-31
The Online Safety Act has been a long time coming (since at least 2021 since you ask).
In fact it was originally passed into law in 2023, but has now been subject to additional amendments:
"As of 17 March 2025, platforms have a legal duty to protect their users from illegal content online. Ofcom are actively enforcing these duties and have opened several enforcement programmes to monitor compliance"
"As of 25 July 2025, platforms have a legal duty to protect children online. Platforms are now required to use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from accessing pornography, or content which encourages self-harm, suicide or eating disorder content ..." and much else besides.
So obviously, it's for the safety of our children (yes, the state wants to control what our children can see, so that parents need not bother; it also wants to introduce full "age verification" which will perchance be soon facilitated by an official digital id).
Others say that if they draw the boundaries sufficiently vaguely and potentially all-encompassingly then censorship is the (intended) result.
So do we now have what amounts to a Censor's Charter?
