New Online Safety Laws Could Take "Years" To Show True Benefits

The government, Labour, and an influential committee of MPs have warned that it could take years for the public to feel the benefit of the Online Safety Act, and said it will be “critical” for the new regulations to continue to be reviewed.

A new report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has argued that it may take years for most of the public to see any tangible benefits from the Online Safety Act, despite high public expectations. 

As the regulation will not be fully implemented until 2026, the report found there is a risk that public confidence will be undermined if it does not quickly bring about tangible changes to online experiences. 

Under the new law, individuals must first complain to service providers, who then handle complaints. If they are not acted upon, individuals can then complain to Ofcom, the main regulator responsible for enacting the legislation, but Ofcom is not able to then act on complaints individually. The committee has therefore called on Ofcom to make members of the public aware of the outcome of complaints. The PAC did, however, acknowledge that Ofcom had made a “good start” in preparing for its new role in upholding online safety. 

Labour MP and PAC chair Meg Hillier told PoliticsHome that she was concerned that in the UK, “we legislate pretty badly” and would therefore need a review of the Online Safety Act to ensure the outcomes are continually evaluated as technologies develop and new harms emerge. 

“There is a need for people to see quick improvements," she said. "It is going to be challenging to evaluate – I don’t think anyone thinks it is done.”

She added that more needed to be done to establish a “public record” of where online harms were identified and what action was being taken to