Online Safety Act Network
@osanetwork.bsky.social
Updates, commentary and analysis on the implementation of the UK's #OnlineSafetyAct www.onlinesafetyact.net
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🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
@itvnews.bsky.social coverage of @ofcom.bsky.social #vawg guidance here with comments from Internet Matters and Refuge on why its non-enforceable status may limit its impact. 2/ www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
November 25, 2025 at 9:17 AM
@itvnews.bsky.social coverage of @ofcom.bsky.social #vawg guidance here with comments from Internet Matters and Refuge on why its non-enforceable status may limit its impact. 2/ www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
🚨 @ofcom.bsky.social have published their final guidance on protecting women and girls online. Coverage and commentary, including our own response, to follow here later. #onlinesafetyact #vawg #violenceagainstwomenandgirls www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
Ofcom: Tech firms must up their game to tackle online harms against women and girls
Online safety watchdog, Ofcom, today launches new industry guidance demanding that tech firms step up to deliver a safer online experience for millions of women and girls in the UK.
www.ofcom.org.uk
November 25, 2025 at 7:32 AM
🚨 @ofcom.bsky.social have published their final guidance on protecting women and girls online. Coverage and commentary, including our own response, to follow here later. #onlinesafetyact #vawg #violenceagainstwomenandgirls www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
It's #onlinesafety newsletter day: if you don't subscribe, you can read it in full below. Just don't forget to sign up to receive the next instalment direct.😉 #onlinesafetyact mailchi.mp/9755825a6fb9...
November 24, 2025 at 9:11 AM
It's #onlinesafety newsletter day: if you don't subscribe, you can read it in full below. Just don't forget to sign up to receive the next instalment direct.😉 #onlinesafetyact mailchi.mp/9755825a6fb9...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
We found that Jewish people were targeted with a wave of hatred & calls for violence on X after the heinous UK Heaton Park Synagogue attack.
Following this research, more than 30 cross-party MPs & peers are urging Ofcom to take action against antisemitism on X.
More in @politicshome.bsky.social ⤵️
Following this research, more than 30 cross-party MPs & peers are urging Ofcom to take action against antisemitism on X.
More in @politicshome.bsky.social ⤵️
Cross-Party MPs Demand Ofcom Investigation Into Antisemitism On X
Exclusive: A cross-party group of MPs and peers has demanded that Ofcom take action against a surge in antisemitic posts and calls for violence aga...
www.politicshome.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM
We found that Jewish people were targeted with a wave of hatred & calls for violence on X after the heinous UK Heaton Park Synagogue attack.
Following this research, more than 30 cross-party MPs & peers are urging Ofcom to take action against antisemitism on X.
More in @politicshome.bsky.social ⤵️
Following this research, more than 30 cross-party MPs & peers are urging Ofcom to take action against antisemitism on X.
More in @politicshome.bsky.social ⤵️
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Great to see the gov pushing Ofcom to implement further protections in the Online Safety Act.
Liz Kendall is right - more delays prevent us from protecting women, children and minority groups from harm
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Liz Kendall is right - more delays prevent us from protecting women, children and minority groups from harm
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Media watchdog under fire as new tech chief launches blistering attack
Liz Kendall criticised the sluggish pace of the media regulator and said families across the country 'have been waiting too long for the protections' under the Online Safety Act
www.mirror.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Great to see the gov pushing Ofcom to implement further protections in the Online Safety Act.
Liz Kendall is right - more delays prevent us from protecting women, children and minority groups from harm
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Liz Kendall is right - more delays prevent us from protecting women, children and minority groups from harm
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Quite the shot across the bows from the #DSIT Secretary of State to the @ofcom.bsky.social Chief Exec in the second of two letters on the implementation of the #onlinesafetyact, published today. Consultations on the duties referred to are now delayed until summer 2026. 1/2 www.gov.uk/government/p...
November 12, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Quite the shot across the bows from the #DSIT Secretary of State to the @ofcom.bsky.social Chief Exec in the second of two letters on the implementation of the #onlinesafetyact, published today. Consultations on the duties referred to are now delayed until summer 2026. 1/2 www.gov.uk/government/p...
🚨The APPG on Children's #onlinesafety has announced a new inquiry into #AI with a view to making recommendations to Government to close gaps in existing legislation, including the #onlinesafetyact.
📆 Deadline for submissions 7 January. www.childrensonlinesafetyappg.org/inquiries-ai...
📆 Deadline for submissions 7 January. www.childrensonlinesafetyappg.org/inquiries-ai...
Inquiry into Artificial Intelligence (AI) Harms and Children’s Online Safety
The APPG On Online Safety on Social Media inquiry “AI and Online Safety: Safeguarding Children’s Digital Futures”
www.childrensonlinesafetyappg.org
November 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
🚨The APPG on Children's #onlinesafety has announced a new inquiry into #AI with a view to making recommendations to Government to close gaps in existing legislation, including the #onlinesafetyact.
📆 Deadline for submissions 7 January. www.childrensonlinesafetyappg.org/inquiries-ai...
📆 Deadline for submissions 7 January. www.childrensonlinesafetyappg.org/inquiries-ai...
New amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill announced by the Government, enabling safety testing of AI models to prevent them being used to create CSAM; the press release also notes that such testing will cover extreme pornography and non-consensual intimate imagery. ⬇️ www.gov.uk/government/n...?
New law to tackle AI child abuse images at source as reports more than double
New legislation sees government work with AI industry and child protection organisations to ensure AI models cannot be misused to create synthetic child sexual abuse images.
www.gov.uk
November 12, 2025 at 1:51 PM
New amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill announced by the Government, enabling safety testing of AI models to prevent them being used to create CSAM; the press release also notes that such testing will cover extreme pornography and non-consensual intimate imagery. ⬇️ www.gov.uk/government/n...?
As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ...
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
Mothers say AI chatbots encouraged their sons to kill themselves - BBC News
In her first UK interview Megan Garcia speaks to Laura Kuenssberg about the death of her teenage son.
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM
As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ...
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
Good to see the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee pushing TikTok on the impact on #onlinesafety of its plans to make 100s of Trust and Safety staff redundant. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
Science Committee asks TikTok for clarity about how it will keep users safe online if it slashes Trust and Safety staff - Committees - UK Parliament
Correspondence: TikTok Trust & Safety Team reduction and online safety
committees.parliament.uk
October 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Good to see the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee pushing TikTok on the impact on #onlinesafety of its plans to make 100s of Trust and Safety staff redundant. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two, and so are we.
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
October 27, 2025 at 12:33 PM
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two, and so are we.
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
October 24, 2025 at 8:21 AM
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🆕 We've published our cross-cutting analysis of Ofcom's #onlinesafetyact Additional Safety Measures, with more detail on the individual measures to come from us before the consultation closes next Monday (20th). ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...
www.onlinesafetyact.net
October 15, 2025 at 6:55 AM
🆕 We've published our cross-cutting analysis of Ofcom's #onlinesafetyact Additional Safety Measures, with more detail on the individual measures to come from us before the consultation closes next Monday (20th). ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
🚨 NEW: OpenAI’s new “safer” version of ChatGPT actually allows more harm.
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
October 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
🚨 NEW: OpenAI’s new “safer” version of ChatGPT actually allows more harm.
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
"Similar to" but importantly not identical. Meta is drafting off the higher trust that people have in movie ratings to suggest that Instagram is as safe for a 13-year-old as seeing Superman. But movies aren't social media and Meta isn't even publishing its actual revised content policies
Instagram unveils updates to overhaul the app for teen users, including age-gating inappropriate content, in a bid to make its content similar to PG-13 movies (David Ingram/NBC News)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
October 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"Similar to" but importantly not identical. Meta is drafting off the higher trust that people have in movie ratings to suggest that Instagram is as safe for a 13-year-old as seeing Superman. But movies aren't social media and Meta isn't even publishing its actual revised content policies
❓ The Lords' Communications and Digital Committee are asking "how is @ofcom.bsky.social implementing the #onlinesafetyact?" this afternoon: Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes & Online Safety Strategy Director Mark Bunting will be responding. Starts at 230pm. committees.parliament.uk/event/25195/...
14 October 2025 - Ofcom leadership - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament
14:00 - Room 2, Palace of Westminster
committees.parliament.uk
October 14, 2025 at 11:09 AM
❓ The Lords' Communications and Digital Committee are asking "how is @ofcom.bsky.social implementing the #onlinesafetyact?" this afternoon: Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes & Online Safety Strategy Director Mark Bunting will be responding. Starts at 230pm. committees.parliament.uk/event/25195/...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
📢 TikTok slashing Trust & Safety staff in the UK is a threat to online safety.
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
TikTok accused of ‘sacrificing online safety’ amid AI-driven job cuts
Unions and online safety campaigners have called on MPs to investigate the impact of the cuts on online safety in the UK
www.the-independent.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
📢 TikTok slashing Trust & Safety staff in the UK is a threat to online safety.
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Update from @ofcom.bsky.social on its #onlinesafetyact investigations and related enforcement activity. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
Ofcom issues update on Online Safety Act investigations
Ofcom has today provided an update on our enforcement activity under the Online Safety Act.
www.ofcom.org.uk
October 13, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Update from @ofcom.bsky.social on its #onlinesafetyact investigations and related enforcement activity. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
🆕 Our latest #onlinesafety newsletter is out today. Parliament may have been on recess but it's hardly been quiet elsewhere. Catch up with all the latest news, research and commentary below and don't forget to subscribe to receive the next one direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
October 13, 2025 at 7:54 AM
🆕 Our latest #onlinesafety newsletter is out today. Parliament may have been on recess but it's hardly been quiet elsewhere. Catch up with all the latest news, research and commentary below and don't forget to subscribe to receive the next one direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
We're pleased to sign the open letter reported by @theguardian.com today calling for an investigation into the proposed content moderator job cuts at #TikTok ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
UK MPs urged to investigate TikTok’s plans to cut 439 content moderator jobs
Trade unions and online safety experts sign letter warning jobs losses could expose children to harmful content
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:29 AM
We're pleased to sign the open letter reported by @theguardian.com today calling for an investigation into the proposed content moderator job cuts at #TikTok ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
🚨 NEW analysis from our expert legal adviser Prof Lorna Woods OBE on the use by @ofcom.bsky.social of a "technically feasible" proviso in many of its #onlinesafetyact code measures and recommendations on how to reduce its potential impact on user safety. 👇 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/req...
Requirements for OSA codes measures: technical feasibility and proportionality
- Online Safety Act
www.onlinesafetyact.net
October 6, 2025 at 10:35 AM
🚨 NEW analysis from our expert legal adviser Prof Lorna Woods OBE on the use by @ofcom.bsky.social of a "technically feasible" proviso in many of its #onlinesafetyact code measures and recommendations on how to reduce its potential impact on user safety. 👇 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/req...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Do you know what would be good news for fact checkers? Anyone who fancied going to the @fullfact.org website (the people who wrote the widely used fact check cited by lots of people here) and clicking the donate button. We are a tiny charity and your support helps.
fullfact.org/technology/d...
fullfact.org/technology/d...
October 5, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Do you know what would be good news for fact checkers? Anyone who fancied going to the @fullfact.org website (the people who wrote the widely used fact check cited by lots of people here) and clicking the donate button. We are a tiny charity and your support helps.
fullfact.org/technology/d...
fullfact.org/technology/d...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Morning! Society for Hopeful Technologists newsletter #2 is arriving in inboxes now. A little bit on Musk and X, much more about future plans + organising buttondown.com/society-of-h... and great to have a group of fellow organisers coming together 💪
#2: Hopeful Actions
What's next for the Society for Hopeful Technologists: events, principles, and opportunities to get involved.
buttondown.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Morning! Society for Hopeful Technologists newsletter #2 is arriving in inboxes now. A little bit on Musk and X, much more about future plans + organising buttondown.com/society-of-h... and great to have a group of fellow organisers coming together 💪
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
September 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into AI chatbots and their impact on children. The agency issued orders to seven companies asking them for details on their products, including how they “evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions.”
FTC Opens Inquiry Into AI Chatbots and Their Impact on Children | TechPolicy.Press
FTC opens probe into the risks of AI chatbots for kids and teens.
www.techpolicy.press
September 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into AI chatbots and their impact on children. The agency issued orders to seven companies asking them for details on their products, including how they “evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions.”