In an increasingly digital world, regulation of online content has become a priority to protect individuals, and particularly children, from illegal and harmful content while preserving fundamental freedoms. There is no global consensus on how best to do this, which has led to a developing patchwork of regulation and legislation impacting a wide range of businesses. It's imperative to identify whether your business falls within scope of online safety legislation. Then you'll need to identify how to comply, potentially with similar but often different obligations across multiple pieces of legislation, in an efficient and cost-effective way.
In Europe, illegal and harmful online content is regulated through two key pieces of new legislation: the UK's Online Safety Act and the EU's Digital Services Act. These broad-ranging laws have similar aims but different approaches - in reality, many cross-border businesses will be caught by both.
We understand that navigating the complexities of online safety requirements is likely to be challenging for businesses. Our international team can offer expert legal advice on whether you are in scope, as well as the full range of compliance obligations including helping to determine the extent of your obligations, risk assessment and mitigation, internal processes and governance, judging different types of content and takedown procedures, balancing requirements with fundamental rights and freedoms, technology procurement, drafting commercial and consumer-facing terms and conditions, data privacy laws, intellectual property rights, engaging with regulators, and dealing with disputes and reputational issues.
We have extensive experience advising a broad range of clients - from technology companies to online platforms and service providers - on the online safety concerns that keep them awake at night. We provide practical guidance on how to comply with complex regulations in different jurisdictions and will support you in developing secure and compliant businesses.
Latest - News and Insights
Minors, platforms and harmful content: the approach of the EU, Germany and France
Nathalie Koch and Julie Dumontet look at Article 28 DSA and at local online safety regulation in Germany and France.
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The applicability of the Online Safety Act to generative AI: Ofcom's position and regulatory uncertainties
Giulia Carloni looks at the impact of the OSA on generative AI with a focus on chatbots.
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Safety by design – what does this mean in the context of the UK's Online Safety Act?
Giulia Carloni looks at how to comply with OSA obligations to protect children from illegal and harmful online content.
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The EU's high-stakes bet on taming deepfakes
Gregor Schmid, Caroline Bunz, Jakob Horn and Alexander Schmalenberger look at the EU's efforts to address deepfakes under Article 35 DSA and Article 50 EU AI Act.
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Built on sand: can AI-generated content claim copyright?
Charlie Barraud and Louise Popple look at issues around ownership of AI-generated content in the UK.
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GEMA, Getty and beyond: AI and copyright litigation in the EU and the UK
Gregor Schmid looks at AI and copyright litigation in the EU and UK and introduces our new tracker.
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Analysis and exploration of legal and commercial issues in tech, IP, media and related sectors.
Digital Legislation Tracker
To help you stay on top of developments we've built a high-level legislation tracker looking at areas relevant to digital businesses across the EU, UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands.