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Online Safety Act 2023

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Explanatory Notes

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Text created by the government department responsible for the subject matter of the Act to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Public Acts except Appropriation, Consolidated Fund, Finance and Consolidation Acts.
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The Online Safety Act establishes a new regulatory regime to address illegal and harmful content online. It imposes legal requirements on:
- Providers of internet services which allow users to encounter content generated, uploaded or shared by other users ("user-to-user services");
- Providers of search engines which enable users to search multiple websites and databases ("search services"); and
- Providers of internet services on which provider pornographic content (pornographic content that is published by a provider and is not user-generated) is published or displayed.
The Act confers new powers on the Office of Communications (OFCOM) establishing them as the online safety regulator. This role includes overseeing and enforcing the new regulatory regime.