Digital regulation | UK Regulatory Outlook February 2025

UK updates 

Ofcom publishes guidance on age assurance and children's access assessments under OSA 

As part of the second phase of implementation of the Online Safety Act (OSA), Ofcom has published its statement on age assurance and children’s access assessments. This comprises three sets of guidance and marks the first step in the UK regulator's implementation of the child protection provisions of the OSA. This follows its publication of guidance and codes of practice in relation to illegal content, at the end of last year. 

In-scope services now have until 16 April to complete their compulsory children's access assessments. For further information, see our Insight. 

Digital safety toolkit published by Ofcom for online services 

Ofcom has issued the first in a planned series of digital support services for online service providers. The toolkit is aimed primarily at small to medium-sized enterprises but may also be useful to larger providers. It aims to help providers of user-to-user and search services ensure that they are complying with their obligations under the OSA in relation to the illegal content rules. It guides the user step by step through a process that assesses the risk of illegal content appearing on their sites. 

Use of the tool will produce an overview of how risks of different kinds of illegal harm might arise. It will also provide tailored recommendations for safety measures to reduce the risks. It will also help providers produce the records required under the OSA. 

Businesses must complete their first illegal content risk assessment by 16 March. See our Insight for more information. 

House of Commons committee probes UK disinformation threat  

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has launched an inquiry into the threat that disinformation campaigns pose to the UK 

The purpose of the inquiry is to understand which actors are responsible for misinformation and disinformation campaigns, whether they be hostile state or non-state actors, and which technologies are being used. The committee also wants to understand the impact of artificial intelligence. 

The inquiry will also consider what the UK government should be doing across departments and with private and other organisations to combat the spread of disinformation. 

Ofcom consults on commissioning independent productions under the Media Act 

Ofcom has launched a consultation for public service broadcasters (PSBs) on drafting their codes of practice for commissioning independent productions as part of Ofcom's implementation of the Media Act 2024 (see our Insight). 

Ofcom is revising its previous guidance to reflect changes in the Media Act, for example, to include the fact that under the new legislation, PSBs can include their on-demand platforms when meeting independent production quotas. 

The consultation is open until 10 March 2025. 

UK regulator consults on designation of radio selection services under the Media Act 

Ofcom has opened a consultation on proposed principles and methods for reporting to the secretary of state with recommendations for designation of radio selection services under the Media Act 2024. 

The 2024 legislation includes provisions aimed at protecting the availability of UK radio on connected audio devices, that is, online radio streams. It brings certain voice-activated online services (radio selection services) that have been designated by the Secretary of State into regulation for the first time. 

Under the Media Act, Ofcom is obliged to provide the secretary of state with a report making recommendations as to which radio selection services (RSS) should be designated. Before providing the report, the regulator must develop a set of principles and methods that it will follow when making the recommendations. The consultation sets out Ofcom's proposals for these principles and methods. It also seeks views on its emerging thinking on the appropriate sources of data for measuring the use of RSS and setting the threshold for recommendations. 

The consultation is open until 18 March 2025. 

EU updates

Commission integrates code of conduct on online hate speech into Digital Services Act 

The code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online is a voluntary arrangement with commitments given by leading online platforms to a range of measures aimed at countering illegal hate speech online. Measures to be taken include those affecting terms and conditions, review time of notices, transparency of content moderation, multi-stakeholder cooperation and awareness raising. 

The European Commission has now endorsed the integration of the code into the Digital Services Act (DSA). The move is intended to facilitate compliance with and the enforcement of the DSA in respect of hate speech. Adherence to the code is likely to be deemed an appropriate risk mitigation measure for businesses designated as "very large online platforms" and "very large search engines" under the DSA. The code will be effective as a DSA code from 1 July 2025. 

EU reports on unjustified geo-blocking and launches call for evidence  

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has published a report saying that unjustified geo-blocking is still a problem across the European Union, restricting consumers' access to online goods and services. Geo-blocking is the practice whereby traders operating in one member state prevent or restrict access by customers in other member states. 

The Geo-blocking Regulation of 2018 prohibited geo-blocking in most situations unless there is appropriate objective justification (such as the blocking being required for compliance with differing member state laws).  

However, the ECA says that enforcement arrangements need to be made stronger and more uniform, and consumers given better information about support and protections. The regulation does not apply to certain sectors, such as audio-visual services. However, the European Commission has engaged with some sectors regarding possible extension of the regime. The ECA recommends carefully considering the pros and cons of an extension.   

The Commission has issued replies to the report, which commits it to taking action. It will further analyse the benefits, challenges and possible risks of an extension of the Geo-blocking Regulation to services providing access to audio-visual content. However, it currently does not have enough evidence to support extending the regulation to cover audio-visual content. 

It will also update its guidance for member state authorities to improve support and awareness among them, look to strengthen its role in specific circumstances that affect consumers across the EU and improve the enforcement cooperation system for national authorities. 

The Commission issued a call for evidence on 11 February to assist it in its evaluation of whether the Geo-blocking Regulation has met its objectives. It is open for submissions until 11 March 2025.