The Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) received Royal Assent in October 2023. Video sharing platforms (VSPs) have however been subject to a specific regime which has been in force since November 2020. That regime remains in place for now, but it will be replaced (in due course) by the OSA. What do these regimes require and what will happen to the video sharing regime as the OSA takes effect?

In summary:

• the existing VSP regime remains in place for now; 
• VSPs will be given six months’ notice of the repeal of the old regime and the full application of the OSA to them; and
• the OSA has a lot of similarities to the existing regime, but the fines for breaches get bigger, some obligations become more onerous (eg more rigorous obligations to undertake risk assessments) and other obligations, particularly relating to advertising, disappear (at least for now).

For more information, see our article here.