Online Safety Act 2023

160OFCOM’s report about reporting and complaints procedures

(1)OFCOM must produce a report assessing the measures taken or in use by providers of Part 3 services to enable users and others to—

(a)report particular kinds of content present on such services, and

(b)make complaints to providers of such services.

(2)OFCOM’s report must take into account the experiences of users and others in reporting content and making complaints to providers of Part 3 services, including—

(a)how clear the procedures are for reporting content and making complaints,

(b)how easy it is to do those things, and

(c)whether providers are taking appropriate and timely action in response to reports and complaints that are made.

(3)The report must include advice from OFCOM about whether they consider that the Secretary of State should make regulations under section 217 (duty about alternative dispute resolution procedure).

(4)In the report, OFCOM may make recommendations that they consider would improve the experiences of users and others in reporting content or making complaints to providers of Part 3 services, or would deliver better outcomes in relation to reports or complaints that are made.

(5)In preparing the report under this section, OFCOM must consult—

(a)the Secretary of State,

(b)persons who appear to OFCOM to represent the interests of United Kingdom users of Part 3 services,

(c)persons who appear to OFCOM to represent the interests of children (generally or with particular reference to online safety matters),

(d)the Information Commissioner, and

(e)such other persons as OFCOM consider appropriate.

(6)The report may draw on OFCOM’s research under section 14 of the Communications Act (see subsection (6B) of that section).

(7)The report is not required to address any matters which are the subject of a report by OFCOM under section 158 (report about the availability and treatment of news publisher content and journalistic content).

(8)OFCOM must publish the report within the period of two years beginning with the day on which this section comes into force.

(9)OFCOM must send a copy of the report to the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of State must lay it before Parliament.

(10)The Secretary of State must publish a statement responding to the report within the period of three months beginning with the day on which the report is published, and the statement must include a response to OFCOM’s advice about whether to make regulations under section 217.

(11)The statement must be published in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons who may be affected by it.

(12)For further provision about the report under this section, see section 164.

(13)References in this section to “users and others” are to United Kingdom users and individuals in the United Kingdom.