Ah, the sweet sound of a social media legal team frantically Googling: “Does the UK’s Online Safety Act apply to us?”
Spoiler: Yes. Yes, it does.
For anyone not living under a rock (or blissfully off-grid), the UK Online Safety Act passed in 2023 is one of the most ambitious and controversial, pieces of internet regulation the country has seen. It aims to make the internet less of a digital Wild West and more of a vaguely manageable theme park where kids don’t accidentally stumble into the haunted house called “Crypto Scams, Groomers, and Violence – LIVE!”
But what about platforms based elsewhere? Can they just say, “Sorry, guv. Not our problem. We’re American/Chinese/planet-neutral.”
Short Answer:
No. If you have UK users, you’re on the hook.
The Law in a Nutshell
The UK’s Online Safety Act gives Ofcom the power to demand that any platform, social media, search engines, messaging apps, or even niche forums about Victorian stamp collecting take steps to protect users from harmful content.
The law doesn’t care where the company is based.
It cares where the users are.
If UK eyeballs are scrolling through your content: you’re in.
“But We’re Not British!” – The Classic Excuse
Sure, Meta is American. TikTok is Chinese. Telegram is… wherever Russians go to ignore subpoenas.
But that doesn’t change the fact that they operate in the UK market.
That’s like opening a nightclub in Soho, serving tequila shots to underaged people, and then claiming UK alcohol laws don’t apply because the bartender is Canadian. Try that defense in court. We dare you…
What Happens If They Refuse?
Oh, platforms can refuse to comply. But here’s what’s waiting for them:
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💸 Fines up to £18 million or 10% of global turnover, whichever is more painful
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❌ Blocked access in the UK (Yes, your app could literally disappear)
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👨⚖️ Criminal liability for senior managers in extreme cases (Hello, handcuffs… it’s me, Ofcom)
And no, waving the Stars and Stripes or humming the EU anthem won’t get them out of it.
The “Free Speech” Argument (Also Known as: The Big One)
Some platforms will scream about freedom of speech, —especially the American ones where free speech is almost a contact sport.
But here’s the kicker: the UK doesn’t run on the First Amendment. Shocking, we know.
In the UK, preventing harm (especially to kids) is considered a legitimate reason to regulate speech,yes, even if it makes tech bros twitchy.
Will Platforms Comply or Flounce Off?
The big players—Meta, Google, TikTok—will grumble, delay, threaten to pull services, but ultimately I don’t believe they won’t leave the UK market. There’s too much money at stake ( Based on fogures from about a year ago, Fb had 37.10 million users, accounting for approximately 54.7% of the total UK population and Insta had 33.10 million users, representing about 48.8% of the UK population). That’s quite a few numbers they need not to mention their advertisers may not be happy either.
However, smaller platforms (and the really shady ones) might just pack up and ghost the UK.
Frankly, if the only people leaving are platforms with no user safety standards and more bots than humans, are we really losing much?
The Encryption War: WhatsApp, Signal, and the Rest
A special shoutout to the encrypted apps platforms like WhatsApp and Signal that are currently gearing up for the mother of all legal battles over the UK’s demand that they scan messages for child abuse content (CSAM).
They argue this breaks encryption and everyone’s privacy.
They’re not wrong, this part is complicated and will probably end up in court for years. Stay tuned for that drama.
But at the end of the day, I have to ask myself, how difficult is it to push through a law that covers CSAM
However, based on tests undertaken within our trusted parties, it appears that WA shares info within its parent group.
Sorry Platforms, You Don’t Get to Opt Out
The internet might feel like the Wild West, but even in the Wild West, there was eventually a sheriff.
The UK is now that slightly grumpy sheriff muttering, “If you’re gonna serve my people digital snake oil, at least follow the rules.”
Platforms can rant, they can stall, they can write very serious legal letters—but if UK users are involved, they’re in.
And if that means fewer scam ads, less dangerous content, and a slightly safer internet? Frankly, we can all live with that, so what’s the problem guys and girls?
Photo by Maxim Hopman
