Protecting university communities online - an introduction to online safety legislation

An overview of the UK's Online Safety Act, which applies to online services that offer users the chance to interact with each other (such as discussion forums, marketplaces, and social media) or to search across multiple web sites and databases.

In 2025 the first duties on services in scope of the Online Safety Act came into force and the regulator Ofcom began to undertake enforcement action against services that are not compliant. This session will explore how universities and the higher education sector may be in scope of the Online Safety Act and identify the key obligations that in-scope services need to meet.

Who should attend

• University legal teams
• Governance and compliance professionals
• Strategic planners and senior leadership
• Research and innovation managers
• Healthcare and clinical research leads