The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the priority offences set out in Schedule 7 to the Online Safety Act 2023 (“the Act”). Criminal offences listed in Schedule 7 to the Act are made ‘priority offences’ by section 59 of the Act. Part 3 of the Act imposes duties on providers of certain internet services in relation to priority offences and content which amounts to these offences.

The Act repealed the offence under section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress) and replaced it with new offences under section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film).

These Regulations remove the repealed offence from Schedule 7 to the Act and add the new offences to that Schedule.

The Secretary of State considers it appropriate to add these offences to Schedule 7 because of the prevalence of content on regulated user-to-user services or regulated search services that amounts to the new offences, the risk of harm to individuals in the United Kingdom presented by such content and the severity of that harm.

A de minimis assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the public sector has been conducted.