Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50) – Section 217A – Power to impose duties about pornographic content
Sections
Section 217A[F1Power to impose duties about pornographic content
(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this Act for or in connection with the imposition, on providers of regulated services or regulated services of a particular kind, of duties relating to—
- (a)verifying the age of individuals appearing in pornographic content published or displayed on those regulated services (“age verification duties”);
- (b)verifying whether individuals appearing in pornographic content published or displayed on those regulated services consent to the content being published or displayed (“consent verification duties”).
(2) Age verification duties and consent verification duties may include duties relating to the systems and processes used to operate regulated services, or regulated services of a particular kind.
(3) Consent verification duties may include duties relating to cases where consent previously given is withdrawn.
(4) Regulations under this section may make provision requiring OFCOM to issue guidance to providers of regulated services, or regulated services of a particular kind, to assist them to comply with age verification duties and consent verification duties.
(5) The provisions of this Act that may be amended by the regulations in connection with the imposition of age verification duties and consent verification duties include, but are not limited to, section 131(2).]
Amended text
This Section is shown as amended by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (see the annotations below), as incorporated in the text in force on 19 September 2026 as published on legislation.gov.uk.
Annotations
Textual Amendments
- F1 S. 217A and cross-heading inserted (29.6.2026) by Crime and Policing Act 2026 (c. 20), ss. 109(2), 255(3)(c)
https://osa.digiphile.law/article/article-217A.html
Text as at 19 September 2026.
This is an unofficial convenience version of the Online Safety Act 2023. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in September 2026.