Petition to Repeal OSA Rejected; Child Safety in Focus

High-Level Summary

Westminster Hall debated e‑petition 722903 on repealing the Online Safety Act (OSA), which was signed by “550,138 people who signed the petition” [ref: a251.1/3]. Speakers across the debate opposed repeal and instead argued for refinement and proportionate implementation, particularly to protect children while avoiding undue burdens on low‑risk, volunteer‑run forums. The Government confirmed it has “no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act” and set out recent implementation milestones on illegal‑harms and child‑safety regimes [ref: a280.0/5, a280.0/6, a280.0/9]. Members also raised concerns about VPN circumvention and emerging risks from AI chatbots and deepfakes. The House resolved that it had considered the petition [ref: a290.0/9].

Detailed Summary

E‑petition 722903: Online Safety Act 2023—Repeal

Lewis Atkinson (Petitions Committee) opened the debate, thanking the “550,138 people who signed the petition” and setting out the balance between online opportunities and harms [ref: a251.1/3, a251.1/4-a251.1/5]. He noted the Act’s multiple parts and Ofcom’s risk‑based approach, while reporting that some small, volunteer‑run forums fear liability and complexity; one administrator “came close to shutting the site down” when the Act commenced [ref: a251.1/7, a251.1/12, a251.1/11]. Interventions stressed the need to protect children without stifling lawful speech—“a balance needs to be struck” [ref: a252.0/1]—and that “the Act contains proactive requirements to protect freedom of expression” [ref: a260.0/3].

Contributors highlighted early child‑safety effects and the regulation of recommender feeds: “algorithms serving harmful content to kids are now being regulated for the first time” [ref: a255.1/1]. Lizzi Collinge said, “For the first time, adult content is being age‑restricted online” through effective age checks [ref: a260.0/10]. Ann Davies and Iqbal Mohamed supported the Act but pressed for improvements, including clearer coverage of AI chatbots—acknowledging they “mostly fall outside the scope of the Online Safety Act”—and concerns that age‑gating has sometimes restricted lawful political content [ref: a257.4/2, a259.0/3]. Jim McMahon argued the current framework “does not go anywhere near far enough” and warned about threats to truth and democracy [ref: a258.0/2, a258.0/3]. Tom Collins urged technical safety standards and greater openness on recommender systems, saying there is “no excuse for a lack of openness when it comes to safety” [ref: a265.0/3]. Victoria Collins cited growing AI and deepfake harms—reports of AI‑generated child sexual abuse material “have more than doubled in the past year”—and questioned age‑gating effects on educational and political content [ref: a273.2/12, a275.1/4].

For the Opposition, the shadow Minister Julia Lopez acknowledged complexity, welcomed progress protecting children, pressed for proportionate burdens on smaller services, and warned that non‑compliant sites should expect penalties: “Ofcom fines are coming” [ref: a277.1/6]. She also noted the Act “will be statutorily reviewed next year” and raised VPN circumvention as a priority for action [ref: a277.1/15, a277.1/1-a277.1/2]. The Minister, Ian Murray, confirmed the Government “have no plans to repeal the Online Safety Act” and outlined implementation: “On 17 March the illegal harms codes of practice came into effect” and “On 25 July, the child safety regime came into force” [ref: a280.0/5, a280.0/6, a280.0/9]. On VPNs, Ofcom found daily users “temporarily doubled to around 1.5 million” then fell, and services must “take appropriate steps to mitigate” easy circumvention [ref: a280.0/18, a280.0/19]. On AI, he said some chatbots are already in scope, with further work planned including a child‑safety summit in 2026 and an Ofcom age‑assurance report “due in July 2026” [ref: a284.1/2, a284.3/2, a285.2/6]. He added that Ofcom’s resources have increased to support its expanded role [ref: a287.1/3].

Outcome and next steps: The debate concluded with the formal resolution: “Resolved, That this House has considered e‑petition 722903 relating to the Online Safety Act” [ref: a290.0/9]. The Government emphasised proportionate implementation, ongoing enforcement (including against sites ignoring age‑gating), monitoring of VPN circumvention, and work on AI‑related harms (chatbots and deepfakes), alongside scheduled reviews and evaluations [ref: a280.0/11-a280.0/15, a280.0/18-a280.0/20, a284.1/2, a284.3/2, a285.2/6].