Online Safety Act 2023UK · 2023 c. 50
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Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50) – Schedule 8 – Transparency reports by providers of Category 1 services, Category 2A services and Category 2B services

Schedules

Schedule 8Transparency reports by providers of Category 1 services, Category 2A services and Category 2B servicesSection 77

PART 1 Matters about which information may be required: user-to-user part of service

1 The incidence of illegal content, content that is harmful to children, relevant content and content to which section 15(2) applies on a service.
2 The dissemination of illegal content, content that is harmful to children, relevant content and content to which section 15(2) applies by means of a service.
3 The number of users who are assumed to have encountered illegal content, content that is harmful to children, relevant content or content to which section 15(2) applies by means of the service.
4 The formulation, development, scope and application of the terms of service.
5 The systems and processes for users to report content which they consider to be illegal content, content that is harmful to children or relevant content.
6 The systems and processes that a provider operates to deal with illegal content, content that is harmful to children and relevant content, including systems and processes for identifying such content and taking it down.
7 Functionalities designed to help users manage risks relating to content that is harmful to children and relevant content.
8 Features, including functionalities, that a provider considers may contribute to risks of harm to individuals using the service, and measures taken or in use by the provider to mitigate and manage those risks.
9 The design and operation of algorithms which affect the display, promotion, restriction or recommendation of illegal content, content that is harmful to children, relevant content or content to which section 15(2) applies.
10 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with any duty set out in Chapter 2 or 4 of Part 3 or section 38 (including in particular measures that are described in a code of practice under section 41).

[Paragraph 11 below is prospective: enacted but not yet in force as at 19 September 2026.]

11 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with the duty set out in section 64(1) (user identity verification).
12 Arrangements that a provider has in place for the reporting (in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) of content relating to child sexual exploitation and abuse, and measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with a requirement under section 66.
13 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with any duty set out in section 71 or 72 (terms of service).

[Paragraph 14 below is prospective: enacted but not yet in force as at 19 September 2026.]

14 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with any duty set out in section 75 (deceased child users).
15 The systems and processes by which a provider assesses the risk of harm to individuals from the presence of illegal content or content that is harmful to children—
  • (a)
    when the service is initially being designed or developed,
  • (b)
    when any further development or update to the service is being considered, and
  • (c)
    while the service is in operation.
16 The systems and processes that a provider operates—
  • (a)
    to direct users of the service to information about how they can protect themselves from harm in relation to illegal content and content that is harmful to children, and
  • (b)
    to counteract or provide support to users of the service in relation to illegal content and content that is harmful to children present on the service.
17 Co-operation by a provider with government, regulatory or other public sector bodies in the United Kingdom, in particular those involved in the enforcement of the criminal law.
18 Measures taken or in use by a provider to provide for a higher standard of protection for children than for adults.
19 Measures taken or in use by a provider to improve the media literacy of users, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of such measures.
20 Any other measures taken or in use by a provider which relate to online safety matters.

PART 2 Matters about which information may be required: search engine

21 The incidence of illegal search content and search content that is harmful to children on a service.
22 The number of users who are assumed to have encountered illegal search content or search content that is harmful to children.
23 The formulation, development, scope and application of the statements of policies and procedures mentioned in sections 27(5) and 29(5).
24 The systems and processes for users to report search content which they consider to be illegal content or content that is harmful to children, or other content which they consider breaches any statements of policies and procedures which have been made publicly available by the provider of a service.
25 The systems and processes that a provider operates to deal with illegal search content and search content that is harmful to children, including systems and processes for identifying such content and minimising the risk of those kinds of content being encountered by means of the service.
26 Functionalities designed to help users manage risks relating to search content that is harmful to children.
27 The design and operation of algorithms which affect the display, promotion, restriction or recommendation of illegal search content or search content that is harmful to children.
28 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with any duty set out in Chapter 3 or 4 of Part 3 or section 39 (including in particular measures that are described in a code of practice under section 41).

[Paragraph 29 below is prospective: enacted but not yet in force as at 19 September 2026.]

29 Arrangements that a provider has in place for the reporting (in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) of content relating to child sexual exploitation and abuse, and measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with a requirement under section 66.

[Paragraph 30 below is prospective: enacted but not yet in force as at 19 September 2026.]

30 Measures taken or in use by a provider to comply with any duty set out in section 75 (deceased child users).
31 The systems and processes by which a provider assesses the risk of harm to individuals from illegal search content or search content that is harmful to children—
  • (a)
    when the service is initially being designed or developed,
  • (b)
    when any further development or update to the service is being considered, and
  • (c)
    while the service is in operation.
32 The systems and processes that a provider operates—
  • (a)
    to direct users of the service to information about how they can protect themselves from harm in relation to illegal content and content that is harmful to children, and
  • (b)
    to counteract or provide support to users of the service in relation to illegal search content and search content that is harmful to children.
33 Co-operation by a provider with government, regulatory or other public sector bodies in the United Kingdom, in particular those involved in the enforcement of the criminal law.
34 Measures taken or in use by a provider to provide a higher standard of protection for children than for adults.
35 Measures taken or in use by a provider to improve the media literacy of users, and an evaluation of the effectiveness of such measures.
36 Any other measures taken or in use by a provider which relate to online safety matters.

PART 3 Further provision and interpretation

37 When determining which information to require in a notice under section 77(1) in relation to a particular service, OFCOM must take into account—
  • (a)
    the kind of service it is;
  • (b)
    the functionalities of the service;
  • (c)
    the number of users of the service;
  • (d)
    the capacity of the provider;
  • (e)
    the duties set out in Chapter 2 or 3 of Part 3 or Chapters 1 to 4 of Part 4 that apply in relation to the service;
  • (f)
    the proportion of users of the service who are children.
38 The Secretary of State may by regulations—
  • (a)
    amend Part 1 or Part 2 of this Schedule so as to add further matters about which information may be required, or to vary or omit matters about which information may be required, and
  • (b)
    amend paragraph 37 in connection with any such amendment.
39 The Secretary of State must consult OFCOM before making regulations under paragraph 38.
40 In the application of Part 2 of this Schedule to a combined service, references to statements of policies and procedures include references to provisions of the terms of service which relate to the search engine.
41
(1) For the purposes of this Schedule, content of a particular kind is “relevant content” if—
  • (a)
    a term of service, other than a term of service within sub-paragraph (2), indicates (in whatever words) that the presence of content of that kind is prohibited on the service or that users’ access to content of that kind is restricted, and
  • (b)
    it is regulated user-generated content.
(2) The terms of service within this sub-paragraph are as follows—
  • (a)
    terms of service which make provision of the kind mentioned in section 10(5) (protecting individuals from illegal content) or 12(9) (protecting children from content that is harmful to children);
  • (b)
    terms of service which deal with the treatment of consumer content.
(3) References in this Schedule to relevant content are to content that is relevant content in relation to the service in question.
(4) The reference in sub-paragraph (1) to users’ access to content being restricted is to be construed in accordance with sections 58 and 236(6).
42 In this Schedule—
  • “consumer content” has the same meaning as in Chapter 3 of Part 4 (see section 74(3));
  • “content that is harmful to children” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 60);
  • “illegal content” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 59);
  • “illegal search content” means search content that is illegal content;
  • “regulated user-generated content” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 55), and references to such content are to content that is regulated user-generated content in relation to the service in question;
  • “search content” has the same meaning as in Part 3 (see section 57);
  • “users” means United Kingdom users (see section 227), except in paragraphs 16(a) and 32(a) where “users” means individuals in the United Kingdom who are users of a service.

Pending amendment (not yet in force)

legislation.gov.uk records the following amendment(s) to this Schedule that had not been brought into force on 19 September 2026 and are therefore not reflected in the text above:

  • Sch. 8 para. 12: coming into force by S.I. 2025/371, reg. 2(1)(h), (2) (only so far as it relates to regulated user-to-user services)

Annotations

Commencement Information

  1. I1 Sch. 8 para. 1 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  2. I2 Sch. 8 para. 1 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  3. I3 Sch. 8 para. 2 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  4. I4 Sch. 8 para. 2 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  5. I5 Sch. 8 para. 3 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  6. I6 Sch. 8 para. 3 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  7. I7 Sch. 8 para. 4 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  8. I8 Sch. 8 para. 4 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  9. I9 Sch. 8 para. 5 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  10. I10 Sch. 8 para. 5 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  11. I11 Sch. 8 para. 6 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  12. I12 Sch. 8 para. 6 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  13. I13 Sch. 8 para. 7 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  14. I14 Sch. 8 para. 7 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  15. I15 Sch. 8 para. 8 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  16. I16 Sch. 8 para. 8 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  17. I17 Sch. 8 para. 9 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  18. I18 Sch. 8 para. 9 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  19. I19 Sch. 8 para. 10 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  20. I20 Sch. 8 para. 10 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  21. I21 Sch. 8 para. 11 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  22. I22 Sch. 8 para. 12 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  23. I23 Sch. 8 para. 12 in force at 7.4.2026 by S.I. 2026/262, reg. 2(1)(j)
  24. I24 Sch. 8 para. 13 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  25. I25 Sch. 8 para. 13 in force at 10.1.2024 for specified purposes by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  26. I26 Sch. 8 para. 14 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  27. I27 Sch. 8 para. 15 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  28. I28 Sch. 8 para. 15 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  29. I29 Sch. 8 para. 16 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  30. I30 Sch. 8 para. 16 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  31. I31 Sch. 8 para. 17 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  32. I32 Sch. 8 para. 17 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  33. I33 Sch. 8 para. 18 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  34. I34 Sch. 8 para. 18 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  35. I35 Sch. 8 para. 19 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  36. I36 Sch. 8 para. 19 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  37. I37 Sch. 8 para. 20 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  38. I38 Sch. 8 para. 20 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  39. I39 Sch. 8 para. 21 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  40. I40 Sch. 8 para. 21 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  41. I41 Sch. 8 para. 22 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  42. I42 Sch. 8 para. 22 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  43. I43 Sch. 8 para. 23 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  44. I44 Sch. 8 para. 23 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  45. I45 Sch. 8 para. 24 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  46. I46 Sch. 8 para. 24 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  47. I47 Sch. 8 para. 25 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  48. I48 Sch. 8 para. 25 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  49. I49 Sch. 8 para. 26 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  50. I50 Sch. 8 para. 26 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  51. I51 Sch. 8 para. 27 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  52. I52 Sch. 8 para. 27 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  53. I53 Sch. 8 para. 28 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  54. I54 Sch. 8 para. 28 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  55. I55 Sch. 8 para. 29 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  56. I56 Sch. 8 para. 30 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  57. I57 Sch. 8 para. 31 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  58. I58 Sch. 8 para. 31 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  59. I59 Sch. 8 para. 32 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  60. I60 Sch. 8 para. 32 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  61. I61 Sch. 8 para. 33 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  62. I62 Sch. 8 para. 33 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  63. I63 Sch. 8 para. 34 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  64. I64 Sch. 8 para. 34 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  65. I65 Sch. 8 para. 35 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  66. I66 Sch. 8 para. 35 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  67. I67 Sch. 8 para. 36 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  68. I68 Sch. 8 para. 36 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  69. I69 Sch. 8 para. 37 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  70. I70 Sch. 8 para. 37 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  71. I71 Sch. 8 para. 38 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  72. I72 Sch. 8 para. 38 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  73. I73 Sch. 8 para. 39 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  74. I74 Sch. 8 para. 39 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  75. I75 Sch. 8 para. 40 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  76. I76 Sch. 8 para. 40 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  77. I77 Sch. 8 para. 41 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  78. I78 Sch. 8 para. 41 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)
  79. I79 Sch. 8 para. 42 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 240(1)
  80. I80 Sch. 8 para. 42 in force at 10.1.2024 by S.I. 2023/1420, reg. 2(x)

Referred to in

s. 77s. 78s. 152s. 225

https://osa.digiphile.law/schedule/schedule-8.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.

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