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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS
2025 No. 1352
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS
The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority
Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
Made - - - - 18th December 2025
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1(2)
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 222(3)
of the Online Safety Act 2023(1).
The Secretary of State considers it appropriate to add to Schedule 7(2) to that Act the offences
set out in regulation 2(2) and 2(3) on the ground set out in section 222(4) of that Act.
In accordance with section 225(1)(k) of that Act, a draft of these Regulations has been laid before,
and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences)
(Amendment) Regulations 2025.
(2) These Regulations come into force on the 21st day after the day on which they are made.
(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Amendment of Schedule 7 to the Online Safety Act 2023
2.—(1) Schedule 7 to the Online Safety Act 2023 (priority offences) is amended in accordance
with paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) After paragraph 2 insert—
“Encouraging or assisting serious self-harm
2A. An offence under section 184 of this Act (encouraging or assisting serious self-harm).”.
(3) For paragraph 28A substitute—
“28A. An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003(3)—
(1) 2023 c. 50.
(2) Schedule 7 was amended by regulation 2 of S.I. 2024/1188.
(3) 2003 c. 42.Document Generated: 2025-12-22
Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This
item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.
(a) section 66A (sending etc photograph or film of genitals)(4);
(b) section 66B (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film)(5).”.
Revocation
3. The Online Safety Act 2023 (Priority Offences) (Amendment) Regulations 2024(6) are
revoked.
Kanishka Narayan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Department for Science, Innovation and
18th December 2025 Technology
(4) Section 66A was inserted by section 187 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50).
(5) Section 66B was inserted by section 188 of the Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50).
(6) S.I. 2024/1188.
2Document Generated: 2025-12-22
Status: This is the original version (as it was originally made). This
item of legislation is currently only available in its original format.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the priority offences set out in Schedule 7 to the Online Safety Act 2023
(c. 50) (“the Act”). Criminal offences listed in Schedule 7 to the Act are made ‘priority offences’ by
section 59(7)(c) of the Act. Part 3 of the Act imposes duties on providers of certain internet services
in relation to priority offences and content which amounts to these offences.
These Regulations amend Schedule 7 to the Act by adding offences under section 184 of the Act
(encouraging or assisting serious self-harm) into the Schedule. These Regulations also revoke and
replace paragraph 28A of Schedule 7, adding the offence under section 66A of the Sexual Offences
Act 2003 (c. 42) (sending etc photograph or film of genitals) and retaining the offence under
section 66B of that Act (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film), which was
originally added to Schedule 7 by S.I. 2024/1188.
The Secretary of State considers it appropriate to add these offences to Schedule 7 because of the
prevalence of content on regulated user-to-user services or regulated search services that amounts to
the new offences, the risk of harm to individuals in the United Kingdom presented by such content
and the severity of that harm.
A full Impact Assessment has not been prepared for this instrument because the impacts are expected
to be minimal and fall below the de minimis threshold.
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