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ARTICLE · 27 OCTOBER 2025

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Ofcom Issues Guidance About Online Safety Act In Video Gaming Context

Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
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Lewis Silkin

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Ofcom has recently issued guidance about the Online Safety Act in the video gaming context. It has emphasised that the Act makes online businesses, including gaming companies...

United KingdomMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Laura Harper
Laura Harper
Helen Hart
Helen Hart
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Ofcom has recently issued guidance about the Online Safety Act in the video gaming context. It has emphasised that the Act makes online businesses, including gaming companies, legally responsible for keeping UK users, especially children, safe online, even if their business is based outside the UK.

The guidance includes:

  • how the rules in the Act apply to online video game services
  • the risks of harm for users, especially children; and
  • what video game services need to do to comply.

How the Online Safety Act applies

Online games can allow people of all ages to play, create, explore and express themselves. However, whilst games companies work hard to create safe environments for players and design measures to protect players in the game, some features of online video game services can be exploited or misused and games can become an unsafe environment, especially for children. The Online Safety Act applies to certain types of online services,

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