Illegal content: internet crackdown?

• Explores the new duties placed on user-to-user and search services in respect of illegal content, following the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2023.
• Explains the new risk assessment duty, which will come into force when Ofcom has finalised its guidance on illegal content risk assessments.
• Highlights the challenge for service providers in addressing the grey areas and untested boundaries of what constitutes illegal or harmful online content.

Last October the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) finally entered the UK statute book. Focusing on two key types of internet services—user-to-user and search services—OSA 2023 aims to make the internet safer for all by placing duties on service providers to identify, mitigate and manage risks of harm arising from illegal content and activities, as well as those posing particular risks to children.

A user-to-user service allows people to create and share content online, as well