Online Safety Act: Children's Safety Duties Factsheet

The Online Safety Act establishes a regulatory framework requiring gaming services with user-to-user (U2U) functionalities to assess and mitigate risks posed to children in the United Kingdom. The primary objective is to ensure that platforms implement robust safety measures to protect minors from harmful content, including pornography, bullying, violence, and material promoting self-harm. Compliance is contingent upon a mandatory children’s access assessment, which determines whether a service is likely to be accessed by a significant number of children.

The assessment process requires developers to evaluate their user base and the appeal of their game to minors. If a service is deemed accessible to children, it must complete a comprehensive children’s risk assessment by July 24, 2025. This process involves identifying specific risk factors, assessing the likelihood and impact of harm, implementing proportionate safety measures, and establishing accessible reporting mechanisms. Ofcom mandates that these measures be technically robust, with highly effective age assurance methods—such as photo-ID matching, facial age estimation, or digital identity wallets—serving as the standard for verification. Unverified self-declaration or basic debit card checks are explicitly excluded from this standard.

Proportionality remains a central tenet of the regulatory approach, with the required safety measures varying based on a game’s specific features, player volume, and identified risk profile. Recommended interventions include enhanced governance, rigorous content moderation, user-friendly reporting tools, and clear, age-appropriate terms of service. Platforms are expected to maintain ongoing compliance by reviewing their risk assessments annually or whenever service changes occur. Failure to implement these protections necessitates the adoption of equivalent or superior measures to ensure the safety of children within interactive digital environments.