Reaction to Online Safety Act as age verification comes into force

Calls to repeal the Online Safety Act are growing, with over 400,000 people signing a petition opposing the new law, which came into force on 25 July.

The Act imposes strict online content regulations and mandatory age verification to ensure children and young people are not exposed to harmful material online.

The media regulator, Ofcom, now has the power to impose large fines on websites that fail to implement robust age verification checks on their users.

The introduction of the Act has led to a spike in downloads of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), which hide a user’s location, allowing them to bypass UK age verification requirements.

The government has said it will not ban VPNs but acknowledged that “some people will always find a way around the law.”

Technology Secretary Peter Kyle told Sky News the measures are a "huge, giant, unprecedented step forward in stopping harmful content finding its way into children's feeds."

He added: "If we can take a big step forward—70, 80, maybe even 90%—when it comes to stopping harmful content getting into kids' feeds, I'll bank that. That's a good day at work. That 10% that remains—we will go on figuring it out as we go forward."

One of the main concerns about the Act is its impact on freedom of speech and data security.

Some MPs have publicly spoken out against it, such as Nigel Farage, who argued that the Act suppresses free speech and does not effectively protect children online.

Farage’s party, Reform UK, has pledged to repeal the Act if it comes into power, although it has not suggested alternative measures to safeguard children from harmful content.

One issue is how the Act is being implemented, with some websites reportedly applying overly cautious filters on anything that could be deemed inappropriate.

For example, users on X have found they cannot watch political content, such as videos of anti-migrant protests or a parliamentary speech on grooming gangs. The worry is therefore that tech companies will censor content they consider to be hate speech.

Kyle rejected claims that the law infringes on free speech, saying: "I will be monitoring the impact, but I have not so far seen anything that gives me concern for anyone on free speech grounds. We have very strident protections for free speech in this country.

"This is not about free speech. This is about hateful, violent, extreme, misogynistic and pornographic material finding its way into children's feeds."

CARE’s work covers both free speech and online safety—both are immensely important.

But these issues can conflict when it comes to protecting vulnerable people.

We have campaigned for age verification for many years because it remains the best available solution for protecting children online.

There is no perfect approach, and some people will always try to circumvent the law, but this measure is the most effective one we have.

When reports from Ofcom show that children as young as 8 are able to access porn online, the need is as clear as ever to do whatever we can to protect them from harm.

Any step that could potentially prevent a child from seeing violent, harmful, or degrading content online is a step forward.