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ARTICLE · 22 SEPTEMBER 2025

What's New On Online Safety?

Lewis Silkin
Lewis Silkin
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Lewis Silkin

Lewis Silkin

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After a quietish summer, Ofcom and the UK government have been busy making announcements about the Online Safety Act, including new rules, new consultations and more investigations.

United KingdomMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
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Laura Harper
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After a quietish summer, Ofcom and the UK government have been busy making announcements about the Online Safety Act, including new rules, new consultations and more investigations.

New rules on self-harm

Earlier this month, the government announced "urgent action" to toughen the Online Safety Act by putting stricter legal requirements on tech companies to search for and remove material that encourages or assists serious self-harm. Although platforms are already required to protect children from self-harm content, the government recognises that adults battling mental health challenges are equally at risk from exposure to material that could trigger a mental health crisis or worse. The new regulations mean that content encouraging or assisting serious self-harm will be treated as a priority offence for all users.

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