Free Speech in Britain Explained: Online Safety Act and Hate Incidents

By Matt, Editor

The Online Safety Act explained simply: it is a 2023 law that makes social media firms, search engines and websites legally responsible for policing illegal content and protecting children, with Ofcom able to fine them up to £18m or 10% of global revenue. Its defenders say it protects children. Its critics, including Reform UK, say it is the sharpest tool yet in a wider squeeze on free speech in Britain, alongside police records of “non-crime hate incidents”, thousands of arrests for online messages and a new official definition of anti-Muslim hostility. This explainer sets out what each of them does.

What does the Online Safety Act do?

The Online Safety Act 2023 places “duties of care” on online services used in the UK. They must assess the risk of illegal content such as terrorism and child abuse material, remove it quickly and, where children can access them, shield them from harmful material. Pornography sites and many social platforms now require age verification. The largest “categorised” services face extra duties, and Ofcom published its register of them in July 2026.

Date	Milestone
26 October 2023	Royal Assent
17 March 2025	Illegal content duties in force
25 July 2025	Child safety and age-check duties in force
October 2025	First fine: 4chan, £20,000 plus £100 a day
15 December 2025	MPs debate repeal petition (550,136 signatures)
July 2026	Ofcom publishes register of categorised services

Ofcom’s first penalty, in October 2025, went to the US forum 4chan, which refused to answer the regulator’s information requests. Further fines have hit pornography providers that failed to check users’ ages.

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Why do critics say it threatens free speech?

Critics argue the Act gives platforms every incentive to over-remove. A company facing a fine worth 10% of its global turnover will take down lawful but controversial posts rather than risk it, and the definitions of harm are broad. Age checks also mean adults handing identity documents or face scans to private firms to read ordinary websites.

Reform UK pledged in 2025 to repeal the Act. Zia Yusuf has warned that it reaches into private life and called it “borderline dystopian”, according to The Guardian. The Act’s defenders, including children’s charities, say the protections for minors are overdue.

How many people are arrested for what they post?

The government does not publish arrest figures for individual speech offences. A Times investigation using freedom of information requests found 12,183 arrests in 2023 under section 127 of the Communications Act 2003 and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988, across 37 police forces. That is about 33 a day. The House of Lords Library sets out the figures and the debate. Ministry of Justice figures cited by the Times show just 1,119 people were sentenced under the two offences in 2023, which critics say shows how widely the net is cast.

What are non-crime hate incidents?

A non-crime hate incident is a record police make when someone reports an event they believe was motivated by hostility, even though no crime took place. The record can surface in enhanced background checks. Policy Exchange estimates that forces log about 13,200 of them a year, taking more than 60,000 police hours.

In March 2026 the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council recommended replacing them with a triage system, stating that “lawful free speech is not a police matter”. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 revokes the statutory code, but the section has not been brought into force. Full Fact reports that implementation of the new standard is aimed for early 2027. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood moved to scrap non-crime hate incidents in January 2026, but until the law is switched on, the old regime remains.

What is the anti-Muslim hostility definition?

On 9 March 2026 the government published a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility. It says criticism, ridicule or insult of Islam is protected. But it also covers “prejudicial stereotyping” intended to encourage hatred, which need not be unlawful. Critics fear councils, universities and police will use it to chill debate about grooming gangs, extremism and integration. Robert Jenrick, now a Reform MP, was reported to police over comments on Islam, according to the Daily Express, and has vowed to fight. This site has also reported claims about who shaped the definition.

Who is responsible for the Online Safety Act?

Both main parties own it. The Act was drawn up and passed under the Conservatives, after years of debate that began with Theresa May’s 2019 Online Harms White Paper. Labour supported it in opposition and has enforced it in government, with ministers resisting calls for repeal. Reform UK has promised to scrap it.

The arrests and hate incident records are also a cross-party legacy. The communications offences date from 1988 and 2003, and the non-crime hate incident code was put on a statutory footing in 2023. What has changed is the scale: the Times found arrests under the two communications offences rose by almost 58% between 2019 and 2023.

What do supporters and critics say?

The case for

• Children need protection from pornography, self-harm content and grooming online.
• Platforms had years to regulate themselves and failed.
• Police say recording hate incidents can help prevent escalation.

The case against

• Huge fines push platforms to delete lawful speech.
• Age verification forces adults to hand personal data to private companies.
• Thousands of arrests a year for messages, and records of non-crimes, chill ordinary debate.
• Definitions of hostility to one religion risk becoming a blasphemy code in all but name.

Why does free speech in Britain matter now?

Free speech is not a side issue. It is how voters challenge those in power, including on immigration and Brexit. When Number 10 announces plans for a new National Centre for Information Defence to counter “disinformation”, as Guido Fawkes reported, and SNP members back a UK-wide ban on X at their conference, the direction of travel is clear.

What happens next?

Ofcom is still rolling out duties for the biggest platforms. The repeal of the non-crime hate incident code depends on ministers bringing the relevant section into force. Reform UK says it would repeal the Online Safety Act. Labour has no plans to do so.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the Online Safety Act?

A 2023 law that makes online platforms responsible for tackling illegal content and protecting children, enforced by Ofcom.

What fines can Ofcom impose?

Up to £18m or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater. Ofcom can also seek to have services blocked in the UK.

Does the Online Safety Act ban free speech?

It does not create new speech offences for users, but critics say the threat of large fines pushes platforms to remove lawful content.

Are non-crime hate incidents being scrapped?

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 revokes the code that governs them, but that section is not yet in force. A replacement system is planned for early 2027, according to Full Fact.

How many people are arrested for online posts?

There are no official figures. A Times FOI investigation found 12,183 arrests in 2023 under two communications offences across 37 forces.

Would Reform UK repeal the Online Safety Act?

Yes. Reform UK pledged in 2025 to repeal it.

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Sources

• Online Safety Act 2023 – legislation.gov.uk
• Ofcom – Update on Online Safety Act investigations
• UK Parliament petitions – Repeal the Online Safety Act
• Policy Exchange – Non-Crime Hate Incidents
• College of Policing – Major reforms for police hate incident recording
• Crime and Policing Act 2026, section 182 – legislation.gov.uk
• The Times – Police make 30 arrests a day for offensive online messages
• House of Lords Library – Select communications offences and concerns over free speech
• GOV.UK – A definition of anti-Muslim hostility