Study finds OSA disproportionately harms smaller sites and general public

A new report by the Open Rights Group (ORG) studies how the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) disproportionately favours big tech companies while harming smaller websites and the general public. The report's key findings include that OSA provisions aimed at protecting children could force many small and medium-sized businesses, including sole traders and voluntary sites, to conduct risk analyses and face potential fines or even imprisonment. The ORG also claims that the OSA will further concentrate market power in the hands of big tech, as they are better equipped to comply with its provisions, exacerbating the issues that lead to the spread of harmful content. 

Furthermore, the report suggests that policies targeting the most extreme content are unlikely to be effective and will lead to increased pressure for action regarding "legal but harmful" content. The ORG urges the government to focus on measures that empower users to choose platforms that prioritise trust and positive interaction. 

Finally, the report highlights that age verification proposals will create a new, insufficiently regulated market for handling sensitive data. While Ofcom highlights the need for technically accurate, robust, reliable, and fair age verification methods, it leaves the choice of solution to service providers, who will likely outsource this to third-party vendors. The ORG warns of serious privacy and data protection implications in establishing a large market for largely untested services handling sensitive data. Instead, ORG suggests that service providers should allow users to choose their preferred method and identity provider, fostering competition on security standards.