The Charity Commission has updated its social media guidance to reflect the introduction of the Online Safety Act 2023. The guidance now sets out that a charity may be required to comply with the Act and, if it does, that it must reflect in its social media policy how it will do so.
A charity must comply with the Online Safety Act if runs an online forum, namely any platform or messaging service where beneficiaries or other users can post content and/or communication with each other (or if it runs its own search services).
If a charity does have such a forum, the Act sets out that it must carry out an illegal content risk assessment (which must be kept up to date) and a children's access assessment, if relevant. There are also various record-keeping, safety and related duties to protect against illegal content.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
[View Source]
