UK Online Safety Act impact examined by law makers

The Communications and Digital Committee, a House of Lords select committee, also said it intends to assess how the Online Safety Act has been interpreted, implemented and enforced. It will explore whether this has led to “meaningful changes” to online services and the impact the legislation has had on children’s and adults’ online experiences. The committee also intends to identify whether further action is necessary to bolster the effectiveness of the UK’s online safety regime.

To open the inquiry, the committee has posed a series of questions to stakeholders, seeking their written response.

Those questions, among other things, seek views on whether the Online Safety Act has reduced UK users’ exposure to illegal content and activity; if it has had unintended consequences for freedom of expression, privacy and accessibility; the scope to improve the effectiveness of Ofcom’s regulatory approach; and the extent to which the UK’s online safety framework can respond to emerging harms and technologies.

The evidence gathering process runs until Monday 7 September 2026.

Gemma Erskine of Pinsent Masons, who specialises in online safety regulation, said: “The timing of this call for evidence is particularly interesting. Ofcom has only recently begun moving from implementation into active enforcement, with much of its activity to date focused on relatively straightforward issues such as age assurance requirements in the context of adult platforms. Arguably, the regime is only now beginning to address the more complex questions around platform design, risk mitigation and systemic harms, making it fair to ask whether it is too early to assess its effectiveness.”

“It is also notable that the inquiry focuses on emerging technologies and future harms. This may indicate that the debate is already moving beyond traditional social media risks towards whether the Online Safety Act is capable of addressing AI chatbots, synthetic content and other rapidly evolving technologies that were not fully contemplated when the legislation was drafted,” she said.

Earlier this summer, the UK government outlined plans to prohibit social media platforms from offering their services to children under the age of 16 in the UK from spring 2027. The ban, which the government said will impact Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, will be accompanied by a series of further measures that will impact a wider range of online services, including live streaming and gaming platforms.

In Australia, a social media ban for under-16s is already in force. Other policymakers globally are also moving to strengthen child online safety frameworks. French law makers, for example, have adopted a law that would prohibit social media companies from offering their services to under-15s, though the plans have been challenged on constitutional grounds. The European Commission is also considering whether to introduce a new set of EU-wide measures in relation to child online safety after an expert panel it set up recently recommended some interventions.