E-petition relating to the Online Safety Act

E-petition 722903 calls for the Online Safety Act to be repealed and for Parliament to work towards “producing proportionate legislation”. The petition claims that the act is “far broader and restrictive than is necessary in a free society” and is causing small online forums to close because they lack the resources to comply with the legislation.

The petition received over 550,000 signatures and is scheduled to be debated in the House of Commons on 15 December 2025.

In its response, the government said that it had no plans to repeal the act and that it was “working closely with Ofcom to implement the act as quickly and effectively as possible to enable UK users to benefit from its protections”.According to the government, proportionality was a “core principle” of the legislation.

The government said that it was “very concerned” about small platforms that hosted harmful content – for example, forums dedicated to encouraging suicide or self-harm. Exempting these services from the act could expose children to harm, because “even forums that might seem harmless carry potential risks, such as where adults come into contact with child users”.

The government’s response to the petition also pointed out that Ofcom, the online safety regulator, had developed an “extensive programme of work” to support compliance with the act, particularly for smaller firms.

This debate pack gives an overview of what the act means in relation to illegal content, protecting children, and its proportionality. The briefing also outlines stakeholder comment on the act.