Internet: Safety
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of Ofcom’s ability to deploy service restriction orders or business disruption measures in cases where companies fail to pay financial penalties issued under the Online Safety Act.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
Ofcom's enforcement powers allow it to take enforcement action against a service, including directions to return to compliance, issuing fines or, where appropriate, applying to the courts for business disruption measures, regardless of where it is based. Ofcom publishes details of its enforcement action on its website.
Government continues to monitor the effectiveness of Ofcom’s enforcement of the Online Safety Act 2023 and welcomes recent enforcement action related to non-compliance with duties on highly effective age assurance for sights hosting pornographic content and adult services.
Where services do not comply with duties, or fail to respond to penalties, Ofcom can introduce a daily fine, escalate to business disruption measures (‘blocking’ a service’s access to UK users) or apply to the courts to convert a civil fine to a court-ordered financial penalty.
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