United Kingdom Online Safety Act

Age VerificationIn Effect

A focused view of the rule, its enforcement posture, and the timeline teams should keep in their operating plan.

Plain-English summary

What this regulation means

Built for operators

The UK Online Safety Act gives Ofcom powers over child-safety duties and age-assurance measures, especially for services that host harmful or adult content.

Reading guide

Use the timeline below to see how the rule progressed from enactment to current obligations.

Related regulations surface adjacent requirements in the same jurisdiction or policy lane.

Timeline

Regulatory lifecycle

Sequence: Royal Assent

1
Oct 26, 2023
Royal Assent
The Online Safety Act became law and Ofcom implementation work began.

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Age VerificationIn Effect

The United Kingdom's Children's Code requires online services likely to be accessed by children to design around the best interests of the child. It expects a risk-based approach to age assurance and demands high privacy defaults, limits on profiling and geolocation, and stronger transparency for child users. It affects apps, games, connected toys, social platforms, and websites that are likely to be used by children.

Effective

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United Kingdom

United Kingdom AI Regulation Proposals (2024)

AI RegulationProposed

The United Kingdom continues to pursue a sector-led AI model rather than a single cross-economy AI statute. Its 2024 response keeps five cross-sector principles for existing regulators and signals targeted future legislation for the most capable general-purpose AI models. This affects regulated firms that rely on AI in sectors such as finance, healthcare, telecoms, employment, and consumer platforms.

Effective

Rolling timeline

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Australia

Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024

Age VerificationIn Effect

Australia amended its online safety regime to require providers of age-restricted social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16 users from holding accounts. The framework affects covered social platforms serving Australian users and relies on age-assurance systems rather than mandating government digital ID. It also gives the eSafety Commissioner implementation and oversight responsibilities.

Effective

Dec 10, 2025

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