Ofcom maps 2026 online safety enforcement around three priorities
Ofcom published an article detailing its 2026-27 priorities for online safety under the Online Safety Act 2023, along with an update on its implementation approach and guidance on issuing Technology Notices. The priorities include protecting children, countering terrorism and illegal hate, and improving women's and girls' safety online, with specific actions and deadlines outlined for each area. Ofcom also set out key milestones for the implementation of the Online Safety Act, including consultation publications and statutory reports extending into 2027.
Key Takeaways
- Ofcom’s three 2026-27 compliance priorities are protecting children, countering terrorism and illegal hate, and improving women’s and girls’ safety online.
- For child safety, Ofcom will update in May on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok’s age checks, CSEA protections and risk assessments, then in July on how algorithms expose children to harmful content.
- On women’s and girls’ safety, Ofcom will enforce against sexual deepfakes, nudification sites and image-based sexual abuse, and introduce a May standard called “hash-matching” for non-consensual intimate images.
- The OSA implementation update targets June 2026 for a final crisis response decision, July 2026 for the categorisation register and age-assurance report, and January 2027 for an app stores report.
- Technology Notices can require accredited tech for terrorism or child sexual exploitation and abuse content, and Ofcom says technical feasibility and cost will factor into necessity and proportionality.
Why It Matters
Ofcom is moving from broad Online Safety Act planning into a dated enforcement calendar, which means regulated services now have specific milestones for age assurance, content moderation and transparency reporting. The focus areas also show where compliance pressure will concentrate first: children’s safety, terrorist and illegal hate content, and image-based sexual abuse. For the wider streaming and platform ecosystem, the key signal is how Ofcom applies its Technology Notices powers and whether major services like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok satisfy its expectations. Next to watch: Ofcom’s May update on age checks and its July analysis of how algorithms expose children to illegal and harmful content.
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