The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee will next
week open its new inquiry into the Online Safety Act (OSA) by
taking evidence from Dame Rachel De Souza, Children's
Commissioner for England.
The Committee is investigating the implementation and impact of
the OSA to assess whether it has been effective in making people
in the UK safer online.
Many of the rules the OSA introduced are now in force and a year
has passed since key duties to protect children came into effect
in July 2025. At the same time, the Government is proposing
introducing new restrictions on children's access to social
media, and landmark agreements are being reached with tech
companies such as Meta following major lawsuits in the US.
In its first evidence session, the Committee will discuss with
Dame Rachel De Souza the impact of the OSA on children's online
experiences and what more needs to be done by the Government,
Ofcom and tech firms.
The evidence session with Dame Rachel will start at
2:30pm on Tuesday 1 September in Committee Room 1 of the House of
Lords.
Questions the session will cover include:
- What was the online environment like for children before the
OSA came into force in 2023 and how has it changed since?
- Have tech companies improved the design of their platforms to
make them safer for children since the introduction of the OSA?
- How effective has Ofcom been in implementing and enforcing
the OSA, particularly in regard to protections for children?
- How well can the protections in the OSA respond to new
technology and risks as they emerge?
