Online Safety Act 2023

219 Powers to amend sections 61 and 62

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend—

(a) section 61 (primary priority content that is harmful to children);

(b) section 62 (priority content that is harmful to children).

But the power to add a kind of content is limited by subsections (2) to (4).

(2) A kind of content may be added to section 61 only if the Secretary of State considers that, in relation to Part 3 services—

(a) there is a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children presented by content of that kind that is regulated user-generated content or search content, and

(b) it is appropriate for the duties set out in sections 12(3)(a) and 29(3)(a) (duty in relation to children of all ages) to apply in relation to content of that kind.

(3) A kind of content may be added to section 62 only if the Secretary of State considers that, in relation to Part 3 services, there is a material risk of significant harm to an appreciable number of children presented by content of that kind that is regulated user-generated content or search content.

(4) A kind of content may not be added to section 61 or 62 if the risk of harm presented by content of that kind flows from—

(a) the content’s potential financial impact,

(b) the safety or quality of goods featured in the content, or

(c) the way in which a service featured in the content may be performed (for example, in the case of the performance of a service by a person not qualified to perform it).

(5) The Secretary of State must consult OFCOM before making regulations under this section.

(6) In this section references to children are to children in the United Kingdom.

(7) In this section—

• “regulated user-generated content” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 55);

• “search content” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 57).