According to the Open Rights Group the UK ‘Online Safety Act’ (OSA) harms freedom of speech in the UK. Read their article Save our Sites: Deadline 17 March, that starts with:

Incredible as it may seem, thanks to the Online Safety Act, dozens of harmless, safe, small websites are closing down by 17 March, rather than face threats of fines that could lose their operators their homes. Other websites, based outside of the UK, are likely to stop UK users from accessing their services, to avoid liability, through “geo-blocking”. (…)

This is the inevitable result of dragging literally any website, including (probably by mistake) personal blogs with comments, into the Online Safety regime.

The explainer by the UK government shows the broad scope (marking by me):

The Act’s duties apply to search services and services that allow users to post content online or to interact with each other. This includes a range of websites, apps and other services, including social media services, consumer file cloud storage and sharing sites, video-sharing platforms, online forums, dating services, and online instant messaging services.

The Act applies to services even if the companies providing them are outside the UK should they have links to the UK. This includes if the service has a significant number of UK users, if the UK is a target market, or it is capable of being accessed by UK users and there is a material risk of significant harm to such users.

As the British are often the first with unwise and fundamental rights violating regulations, European vigilance is needed

Information on OSA

• UK government: page on legislation.gov.uk; explainer on gov.uk; Ofcom: Enforcing the Online Safety Act: Scrutinising illegal harms risk assessments
• Guide by the Online Safety Act Network
• Wikipedia page
• Security.nl article (Dutch)

Addition 24 January 2026
Security.nl: Brits Hogerhuis stemt voor verbod op vpn’s en social media voor jongeren.
Netzpolitik: Kommunikationsplattformen müssen Inhalte scannen, “Am Donnerstag ist ein Gesetz in Kraft getreten, laut dem Anbieter von Social-Media- und Dating-Diensten untersuchen müssen, was britische Nutzer*innen einander zuschicken. So sollen Menschen vor ungewollten Dickpics geschützt werden“.

Addition 24 February 2026
Security.nl: VK geeft bedrijf boete van 1,6 miljoen euro voor het niet toepassen van leeftijdsverificatie.
Ofcom is the British regulator for the communications services. It wrote: Ofcom fines porn company £1.35m for not having age checks.
Open Rights Group: Online harms: Millions could be forced to use unregulated age verification, introduction:

Big Tech Programme Manager James Baker said:
“The Government is playing whack-a-mole with online safety, focusing on individual harms and product features instead of confronting the structural power of dominant tech companies. By abandoning comprehensive AI regulation under pressure from Big Tech, it is allowing private actors to shape the rules of digital life without democratic oversight.
“It has also failed to regulate the age assurance industry even as it pushes plans that will force millions of people to hand over their biometrics or personal documents in order to access everyday online content.”