Help or hindrance? We asked the experts what the "bafflingly large, confusing" UK Online Safety Act could mean for video games

Today, the UK’s new Online Safety Act comes into effect, with the aim of making the internet safer – especially for children. It will apply to all “search services” and services that allow users to interact with one another, including social media, video-sharing platforms, and of course – video games.

While it’s a UK law, it will apply to any company or service with a significant number of UK users, with Ofcom – the UK’s independent regulator of online safety – enforcing compliance.

Specifically, the Act requires companies to take “robust action” against illegal content (including the likes of child sexual abuse, extreme pornography, or terrorism); and against content harmful for children (including pornography, bullying, or abusive content). Adults will also be impacted, allowing greater control over the type of content and the people they’re able to engage with online.

But what does this mean for the video game industry? How will online game services be affected? And just how enforceable will this new Act be?

The Online Safety Act will be wide-reaching in its impact across the internet, but to what extent has the games industry really been considered during the hearing process?

“From the moment the government had the idea of an Online Safety Bill and published its white paper on it in 2019, social media firms were in the crosshairs,” says George Osborn, editor of Video Games Industry Memo who was head of campaign and communications at Ukie during the time of bill negotiations.