UK government publishes updated draft codes for Online Safety Act

The UK government has released updated draft codes of practice under the Online Safety Act, including detailed guidance on illegal content duties and child safety measures. The codes require platforms to assess and mitigate risks of child sexual exploitation and abuse, including grooming and the sharing of child sexual abuse material, and to implement age-appropriate design features. Ofcom, the regulator, will consult on the codes before they are laid before Parliament, with the child safety duties expected to come into force in spring 2025.

The duty-of-care framework established by the Online Safety Act obliges platforms to identify and reduce exposure to sexual exploitation and abuse, but the legislation does not prescribe the technical means by which that outcome must be achieved. Real-time detection of grooming, sextortion, and CSAM sharing in private messaging can satisfy the statutory standard by identifying harmful conversations as they escalate, enabling intervention before abuse is completed. As a Meta Business Partner and world-leading online-safety platform, Guardii provides detection modules that operate across multiple services to flag predatory patterns and coercion, reporting the nature and urgency of a conversation to the appropriate authority or caregiver and supporting the rapid escalation the Act's regime demands.