Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50)

PART 3 U.K. Providers of regulated user-to-user services and regulated search services: duties of care

CHAPTER 3 U.K. Providers of search services: duties of care

Duties about content reporting and complaints procedures U.K.

32 Duties about complaints procedures U.K.

(1) This section sets out the duties about complaints procedures which apply in relation to all regulated search services.

(2) A duty to operate a complaints procedure in relation to a service that—

(a) allows for relevant kinds of complaint to be made (as set out under the headings below),

(b) provides for appropriate action to be taken by the provider of the service in response to complaints of a relevant kind, and

(c) is easy to access, easy to use (including by children) and transparent.

(3) A duty to make the policies and processes that govern the handling and resolution of complaints of a relevant kind publicly available and easily accessible (including to children).

All services

(4) The following kinds of complaint are relevant for all services—

(a) complaints by users and affected persons about search content which they consider to be illegal content;

(b) complaints by users and affected persons if they consider that the provider is not complying with a duty set out in—

(i) section 27 (illegal content),

(ii) section 31 (content reporting), or

(iii) section 33 (freedom of expression and privacy);

(c) complaints by an interested person if the provider of a search service takes or uses measures in order to comply with a duty set out in section 27 that result in content relating to that interested person no longer appearing in search results or being given a lower priority in search results;

(d) complaints by an interested person if—

(i) the use of proactive technology on a search service results in content relating to that interested person no longer appearing in search results or being given a lower priority in search results, and

(ii) the interested person considers that the proactive technology has been used in a way not contemplated by, or in breach of, the provider’s policies on its use (for example, by affecting content not of a kind specified in those policies as a kind of content in relation to which the technology would operate).

Services likely to be accessed by children

(5) The following kinds of complaint are relevant for services that are likely to be accessed by children—

(a) complaints by users and affected persons about search content which they consider to be content that is harmful to children;

(b) complaints by users and affected persons if they consider that the provider is not complying with a duty set out in section 29 (children’s online safety);

(c) complaints by an interested person if the provider of a search service takes or uses measures in order to comply with a duty set out in section 29 that result in content relating to that interested person no longer appearing in search results or being given a lower priority in search results;

(d) complaints by a user who is unable to access content because measures used to comply with a duty set out in section 29(2) or (3) have resulted in an incorrect assessment of the user’s age.

Interpretation

(6) In this section—

• “affected person” has the meaning given by section 31;

• “interested person” has the meaning given by section 227(7).

(7) See also, in relation to duties set out in this section, section 33 (duties about freedom of expression and privacy).

Commencement Information

I1 S. 32 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)

I2 S. 32 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(j)