The Online Safety Act: What Parents Need to Know

The Online Safety Act is the UK's flagship law to make the internet safer, with a strong focus on protecting children. After several years of phased implementation, most of its core duties are now in force, and Ofcom — the independent communications regulator — is using its enforcement powers. For parents, the Act represents both an important new layer of protection and a useful tool to push platforms to act when they fall short. At its heart, the Act places legal duties on user-to-user services (social media, messaging, gaming platforms) and search engines that have links to the UK. The largest and riskiest services, known as Category 1 platforms, have the most extensive duties. All in-scope services must carry out children's risk assessments, take proportionate steps to prevent children from encountering harmful content, and offer reporting and complaints tools. Sites that publish or host pornography must use highly effective age assurance to keep under-18s out. The Act lists specific categories of content that platforms must protect children from. These include pornography; content promoting or glorifying suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders; content depicting or encouraging serious violence; bullying content; and content that incites hatred. Platforms must also tackle illegal content quickly, including child sexual abuse material, grooming, intimate image abuse, and threats of violence. Ofcom's codes of practice describe what 'proportionate' steps look like for different types of service. For parents, three practical points matter most. First, complaints carry more weight than they used to. Every in-scope platform must offer an easy way to report harmful or illegal content, and they must respond promptly. Keep screenshots, note timestamps, and follow up if a platform does not act. Second, age assurance is no longer optional on services hosting adult content. If your child has been able to access a pornography site without proving their age, that site is likely in breach — Ofcom is interested in evidence. Third, Ofcom welcomes intelligence from the public about systemic problems, even though it does not resolve individual disputes. The Act also has limits. End-to-end encrypted messaging is treated cautiously, and small platforms with low risk face lighter duties. Algorithms and recommendation systems are addressed but remain a moving target. Some harms — such as misogyny, financial exploitation, and AI-generated abuse — are evolving faster than regulation. The Act gives Ofcom powers to update codes over time, which means parental advocacy continues to matter. In day-to-day family life, the Online Safety Act does not replace parental controls, conversations, or supervision — but it raises the standard you can expect from the platforms your children use. If a platform is not offering clear reporting tools, age checks where required, or a children's experience designed to reduce risk, that is now a legal issue, not just a customer-service one.