Ofcom issues consultation on “Additional Safety Measures”

On 30 June 2025, Ofcom announced a consultation on “Additional Safety Measures" as part of its ongoing implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023.

As part of this consultation, Ofcom is proposing additional safety measures to incorporate into its existing Codes of Practice on Illegal Content and Protection of Children. The Illegal Content Codes became enforceable on 17 March 2025, and the Protection of Children Codes will become enforceable on 25 July 2025. For more information on these Codes of Practice, read our explainer articles on Illegal Harms and Protecting children online. 

Ofcom has stated that these proposed additional safety measures are focused on: 

1. stopping illegal content going viral, 
2. tackling harms at source, and 
3. affording further protections to children. 

In these proposed additional safety measures, Ofcom highlights the need for platforms to have protocols in place to respond to spikes in illegal content, such as were seen during the Southport riots last year. The proposals also include measures requiring providers to implement hash matching to identify intimate image abuse and terrorism content. Additionally, Ofcom is recommending that, in high risk environments such as children’s livestreams, interaction between users should be restricted. To read Ofcom’s full proposal for additional safety measures, click here. 

The consultation is open until 20 October 2025, with Ofcom seeking input from service providers, civil society, law enforcement and members of the public. Details on how to respond are available here. To learn more about the Online Safety Act 2023 and Ofcom’s accompanying codes and guidance, visit our online safety resource hub, The Safety Net.