What the Online Safety Act Means for Families
A plain-English guide to what the Online Safety Act 2023 actually requires of platforms — and what it means in practice for parents and families in the UK.
The Online Safety Act 2023 is the UK's landmark internet safety law, placing new legal duties on platforms to make their services safer — particularly for children. It does not give parents new legal powers over social media companies directly, but it forces platforms to put proper systems in place to risk-assess, age-gate, and act on harmful content. This guide explains what changed, what is still in progress, and what it means for your family today.
What the Act requires of platforms
All services likely to be accessed by children must carry out children's risk assessments and put safety measures in place before a child can encounter harm — not after the fact. Large platforms must also publish transparency reports so the public can see how they handle illegal content, harmful content, and complaints. Platforms serving primarily adults but accessible to children have specific duties to use age assurance to restrict access by those under 18.
Key takeaway: Platforms must now prove they have safety systems in place, not simply respond to complaints after harm occurs.
Age verification and age-appropriate design
The Act requires services likely to be accessed by children to apply age assurance — which may include age estimation, mobile network operator checks, or other technically effective methods. This does not mean every platform will require a passport scan; the methods available vary and Ofcom has set out what counts as 'highly effective' age assurance. In parallel, services aimed at children must apply age-appropriate defaults: stronger privacy settings, no profiling of children, and no dark patterns that nudge children into giving up personal data.
Key takeaway: Age verification is being phased in across platforms — but the technical implementation varies by service.
Illegal content: faster removal
The Act creates clear duties to identify, remove, and prevent illegal content from appearing on platforms. This includes child sexual abuse material, grooming content, terrorism-related content, fraud, and — following the Online Safety Act and related legislation — intimate image abuse (including deepfakes). Platforms must have systems to remove this content rapidly and refer detected child sexual abuse material to the National Crime Agency.
Key takeaway: Illegal content — especially anything involving child sexual abuse — must be detected and removed rapidly by law.
Complaints and enforcement
Under the Act, all regulated platforms must provide accessible complaints mechanisms. If you report content and a platform does not respond appropriately, you have the right to escalate — first to the platform's internal process, and then to an Ofcom-approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body once that scheme is operational. Ofcom regulates platforms and can issue fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global annual turnover, whichever is greater, for non-compliance.
Key takeaway: Platforms must have proper complaints systems — and Ofcom can fine them heavily for failing to comply.
What changes for parents day-to-day
In practice, the most visible changes will be phased in through 2025 and 2026. You should begin to see: more prominent reporting tools on platforms your child uses, age verification prompts on adult content sites, and clearer explanations from platforms about why content was or was not removed. The Act does not eliminate all risk online — it raises the baseline that platforms must meet. Parental controls, open family conversations, and digital literacy remain essential alongside the new legal duties.
Key takeaway: The Act raises the floor, not the ceiling — your role in guiding your child online remains just as important.
What the Act does
Requires platforms likely to be accessed by children to carry out children's risk assessments.
Imposes duties to use highly effective age assurance on services carrying pornographic content.
Obliges all regulated platforms to provide accessible complaints mechanisms.
Gives Ofcom power to fine platforms up to £18 million or 10% of global turnover for non-compliance.
Requires rapid removal of illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
What the Act does not do
Understanding the limits of the Act helps you set realistic expectations when using complaint and reporting processes.
Give individual parents the right to sue platforms directly under the Act.
Require every platform to implement full ID verification — age assurance methods vary.
Guarantee that harmful-but-legal content for adults is removed from all services.
Replace the need for parental controls, family agreements, or digital literacy conversations.
Practical steps
Check whether platforms your child uses have a children's safety section in their settings — many are now required to have one.
Use each platform's reporting tool when you see harmful content — your reports contribute to Ofcom's intelligence.
Review privacy settings on your child's accounts; the Act requires stronger defaults for under-18s on in-scope services.
If a platform ignores a complaint about illegal or child-harmful content, note the date and response for any future escalation.
Visit gov.uk/online-safety to see which platform duties have come into force and when the next phase begins.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Online Safety Act mean social media is now safe for children?
No. The Act significantly raises the legal obligations on platforms, but it does not eliminate online risk. Platforms must have better systems, respond faster to complaints, and age-gate more content — but no law can prevent all harm. Parental guidance, open communication, and appropriate controls remain essential.
When did the Online Safety Act come into force?
The Act received Royal Assent in October 2023. Duties are being phased in: illegal content duties and children's risk assessment duties came into force in early 2025, with age assurance duties for pornographic content following later in 2025. Ofcom's ongoing codes of practice continue to set out the detail of what compliance looks like.
Sources and further reading
Related guides
Last reviewed: 19 April 2026
This is practical educational content to support families. For case-specific concerns about a child's safety, contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or your local safeguarding team.
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