Online Safety Act 2023

134 Confirmation decisions: risk assessments

(1) This section applies if—

(a) OFCOM are satisfied that a provider of a Part 3 service has failed to comply with a risk assessment duty,

(b) based on evidence resulting from OFCOM’s investigation into that failure, OFCOM have identified a risk of serious harm to individuals in the United Kingdom arising from a particular aspect of the service (“the identified risk”), and

(c) OFCOM consider that the identified risk is not effectively mitigated or managed.

(2) A confirmation decision given to the provider of the service—

(a) if the identified risk relates to matters required to be covered by an illegal content risk assessment, may include a determination that the duty set out in section 10(2)(b) or (c) or 27(2) (as the case may be) applies as if an illegal content risk assessment carried out by the provider had identified that risk;

(b) if the identified risk relates to matters required to be covered by a children’s risk assessment, may include a determination that the duty set out in section 12(2)(a) or 29(2)(a) (as the case may be) applies as if a children’s risk assessment carried out by the provider had identified that risk.

(3) A confirmation decision which includes a determination as mentioned in subsection (2) must—

(a) give details of the identified risk,

(b) specify the duty to which the determination relates, and

(c) specify the date by which measures (at the provider’s discretion) to comply with that duty must be taken or must begin to be used.

(4) A determination as mentioned in subsection (2) ceases to have effect on the date on which the provider of the service complies with the risk assessment duty with which the provider had previously failed to comply (and accordingly, from that date the duty to which the determination relates applies without the modification mentioned in that subsection).

(5) In this section—

• “children’s risk assessment” has the meaning given by section 11 or 28 (as the case may be);

• “illegal content risk assessment” has the meaning given by section 9 or 26 (as the case may be);

• “risk assessment duty” means a duty set out in—

  (a)

  section 9,

  (b)

  section 11,

  (c)

  section 26, or

  (d)

  section 28.