Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, the government’s Office of Communications (Ofcom) has powers to hold online service providers to account.
The Online Safety Act aims to protect children and adults online in several ways, one of which is to prevent the spread of content that details methods of suicide or self-harm.
Sadly, several tragic incidents in the UK have been linked with this kind of content. Some people may have specifically searched for information that encourages them to act, but others may encounter it when algorithms recommend it, or they find it accidentally.
From 16th March 2025, online service providers are obliged to implement measures to prevent harmful and illegal content from appearing and, when it does, remove it quickly. Other actions include:
- implementing content moderation systems and processes to remove harmful material as soon as possible after it is flagged
- ensuring sufficient resources to operate content moderation functions properly
- ensuring those individuals working in moderation have proper training to identify and remove harmful content
- providing easy-to-find and use mechanisms for people to report harmful material.
Ofcom is empowered to act against any online service provider that does not take steps to protect its users from this kind of content. Consequences could include being compelled to make specific changes to their service, being fined for non-compliance or being taken to court to block their service.
