By Gabriella Krite, Head of Operations
Where We Are Now
The UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA) made headlines when it passed in 2023, but things only started getting real when Ofcom published its implementation roadmap in October 2024. Now, deep into 2025, the three-stage rollout is picking up speed, with full enforcement expected by summer. That makes this the perfect moment to step back and ask: What’s actually happening, and will this legislation finally hold big tech accountable?
The Global Problem, UK’s Response
Let’s be honest – governments around the world have been scrambling for decades to get a handle on the internet’s darker corners. Harmful content, misinformation, exploitation—it’s been a digital Wild West. The OSA is the UK’s boldest attempt yet to bring order to the chaos.
At its core, it’s about:
- Tackling illegal and harmful content (especially where children are concerned)
- Reining in tech platforms that allow user-generated content or social interaction
So yes, we’re talking about Google, Meta, X (formerly Twitter), and the usual digital suspects. But it doesn’t stop there—dating apps and smaller platforms are also in scope.
Why This One Feels Different
If you’re reading this with a heavy dose of scepticism, you’re not alone. We’ve seen toothless regulation before, and the big platforms are masters at dodging meaningful consequences. But something about the OSA suggests this isn’t just another press release parade.
Here’s why:
- It applies to all businesses serving UK users, not just UK-based companies. That’s a serious shift in accountability.
- Ofcom has real power—they can issue fines up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue (whichever is greater), without going through the courts. In extreme cases, they can even apply to disrupt a company’s operations entirely.
That 10% of global revenue figure should make any tech exec sweat. And with recent political shifts—think Trump’s re-election and platforms rolling back moderation—this kind of regulation suddenly feels like a necessary counterweight. Last year’s X ban in Brazil and the sudden rise of Bluesky showed that users will migrate when platforms fall out of favour.
There’s some concern that the UK might soften the OSA in trade talks with the US. But so far, the UK seems determined to hold its ground—and Trump hasn’t shown any signs of targeting the Act directly.
What This Means for Advertisers
If everything unfolds as planned (and yes, that’s a big if), advertisers might start to feel the impact in a few key ways:
- Fewer brand safety crises – With tighter content moderation, your ads are less likely to appear next to something reputation-wrecking.
- Smaller platforms might flounder – The compliance burden could be too heavy for upstarts, pushing more ad spend toward the giants who can absorb it.
- Tech pushback could get messy – There’s always a risk of platforms blocking UK access in protest. Think back to TikTok’s US ban attempt or Canada’s standoff with Meta over news compensation—neither ended neatly.
That said, I’m not convinced we’ll see a scorched-earth response from tech companies. The UK is a major market, and walking away from it would be bad business. I also think the public appetite for cleaner, safer digital spaces is finally outweighing the ‘free speech at all costs’ narrative that dominated the last decade.
Final Thought
Maybe I’m being optimistic—but this legislation feels different. If it holds, we could finally see a shift in online culture that benefits everyone: safer spaces for users, more predictable environments for brands, and a little more accountability from the platforms that have, until now, mostly played by their own rules.