Ofcom launched, on 9 April, its first investigation under the Online Safety Act (OSA) targeting a pro-suicide forum. While it has always said enforcement is coming, this nevertheless makes the impact of OSA feel much more real.

“We have made several attempts to engage with this service provider in respect of its duties under the Act and issued a legally binding request to submit the record of its illegal harms risk assessment to us. Having received a limited response to our request, and unsatisfactory information about the steps being taken to protect UK users from illegal content, we have today launched an investigation into whether the provider is complying with its legal obligations under the Act,” Ofcom said.