LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced)
-
I think your risk is likely zero
Personally I'd say the risk is nearly zero but not zero and it's that tiny gap which is going to be the issue for some (not all).
The vast majority are just going to be able to carry on fine, a few may come to Ofcom's attention and never get followed up, an even smaller number may have to jump through some hoops or end up closing their site.
But there's probably going to be a small number of examples being made. Someone not doing something quite as expected, someone at ofcom having a bad day or ofcom needing a sacrificial lamb to hold up and say this is what happens if you don't comply.
We've seen it recently with train fare penalties. Prosecutions for people who missed the small print and saved a couple of pound on their fares. Hugely disproportionate but once you're in the system you're screwed.
aggi-
someone at ofcom having a bad day or ofcom needing a sacrificial lamb to hold up and say this is what happens if you don't comply.
I think Ofcom will end up in court if they did that, Ofcom needs to follow the Human rights act and ECHR. How Ofcom been acting so far its clear they are not ready for any legal challenge on free speech grounds (Tho I know the UK has weak free speech laws)
Vriska1
Okay. There is a process and though it's optional surely with a small organization with only one person working for a few hours per month - first - highly unlikely they ever get to you given limits on their time and much higher profile cases like Facebook, Twitter etc. But if they do - then the normal process would be to talk first and find a way to comply and some action plan for how to comply. At that point if the action plan is too onerous then just shut down [never likely to reach this point]. Then warning letters and only after the warning letters are ignored and something very serious is going on especially causing harm to kids, and being ignored - then they would fine and only consider criminal action if it was very serious indeed.
That is what one would expect of the process. All this WOULD NEED TO BE CHECKED.
But it would be astonishing if they were to spend time fining never mind a court case to imprison someone who does this voluntarily a few hours a month.
I think your risk is likely zero but of course understand wanting to be certain of that. I can't provide the certainty but perhaps Ofcom or someone else can and I hope you find the answers you need.