Ofcom has already published final Codes and risk assessment guidance on how we expect platforms to tackle illegal content and content harmful to children. Ofcom’s role is to hold tech companies to account and ensure they comply with the law, using our enforcement powers where necessary.

But Ofcom is also required to produce guidance setting out how providers can take action against harmful content and activity that disproportionately affects women and girls, in recognition of the unique risks they face.

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Ofcom has today issued a £50,000 fine against the provider of a nudification site for failing to use age-checks to protect children from online pornography, while 20 more porn services are targeted for enforcement.

Robust age checks – which include age verification, age estimation or a combination of both - are a cornerstone of the Online Safety Act and must be ‘highly effective’ at correctly determining whether a particular user is a child.

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Under the Online Safety Act, services that are likely to be accessed by children have duties to protect children online.

From 25 July 2025, providers will need to take the safety measures set out in the Codes of Practice or use other effective measures to protect child users from content that is harmful to them.

Ofcom's Codes of Practice were issued on 4 July 2025. This page gives a quick introduction to the safety measures recommended in the Protection of Children Codes.

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This is an annual report.
Ofcom has had duties to promote and research media literacy since 2003. Ofcom defines media literacy as being the ability to use, understand and create media and communications across multiple formats and services.

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A pro-suicide forum is under investigation by the UK's online regulator - its first using new powers under the Online Safety Act.

The forum, which Ofcom has not named, is understood to be a site BBC News has been investigating for the last three years, linking it to at least 50 deaths in the UK.

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From today, online platforms must start putting in place measures to protect people in the UK from criminal activity, while Ofcom has launched its latest enforcement programme to assess industry compliance.

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