UK's Online Safety Act has made 'absolutely no difference,' kids say
Children's Commissioner also furious with Ofcom over a string of failures
Children in England have complained that the Online Safety Act (OSA) has had no impact on their ability to access harmful online content, despite the legislation taking effect more than a year ago. Dame Rachel de Souza, England's Children's Commissioner, expressed her frustration during a House of Lords inquiry, stating that young people have little knowledge of the OSA and its intended changes to their online experiences.
The OSA has primarily focused on moderating harmful content rather than addressing platform design features that could potentially harm users. De Souza criticized the lack of evidence showing that the OSA has meaningfully changed the operation of social media platforms, contrasting the UK's situation with the US, where legal pressure led Meta to make significant child safety concessions.
The commissioner argued that the OSA should be more flexible and proactive, similar to the US legal system, and accused Ofcom of being too reactive rather than anticipating emerging online harms. De Souza plans to use her statutory powers to compel Ofcom to disclose safety risk assessments submitted by tech companies, as Ofcom has refused to share these assessments with her despite her position as the most senior safeguarding person for children in the UK.
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