Ofcom is the regulator for online safety in the UK. This page outlines that we’ll sometimes access regulated online services as part of our work to make online services safer for the people who use them.
Ofcom’s mission is to make life safer online in the UK, especially for children. Our role is to ensure that user-to-user services, search services and other services regulated under the Online Safety Act 2023 (‘OS Services’) have the appropriate systems and processes in place to protect people from harm.
To support this, Ofcom may access relevant OS Services from time to time.
Depending on the context, our reasons for accessing OS Services are likely to include the following:
- to help us to understand and monitor the measures OS Services have in place, and the way in which they work to ensure users are being appropriately protected from harmful material as required under the Online Safety Act;
- to help us understand the nature and type of harm that arises on OS Services;
- to contribute to our policy development work, highlighting best practice approaches and examining how OS Services are protecting users from content containing harmful material; and,
- to enable us to verify and better understand OS Services’ responses to formal information requests.
In some instances, accessing individual OS Services may be a more proportionate way for us to collect information, where information is available on the service, rather than issuing formal information requests. For example, we may wish to access up-to-date service policies and explore user journeys and user tool functionality.
Where necessary to access relevant functions or content, Ofcom will set up individual accounts using an Ofcom email address. Ofcom will abide by the Terms of Service, unless otherwise agreed with the OS Service provider.