UK OSA Section 12(9)-(13) - Terms of service: children's safety measures (with s 12(14) for Category 1 services)
Publish a clear, accessible, and prominent statement in the terms of service explaining children's safety measures, and consistently apply those stated policies
Where this comes from
Provision: Section 12(9)-(13) - Terms of service: children's safety measures (with s 12(14) for Category 1 services)
Instrument: UK Online Safety Act 2023
Citation: Online Safety Act 2023, c. 50, s 12(9)-(13); s 12(14) (Category 1 additional duty to summarise the children's risk assessment findings); s 95 (Category 1 designation); s 13 (interpretation of the s 12 duties)
Text version: Online Safety Act 2023 c. 50, revised text as displayed on legislation.gov.uk on 2026-09-21 ('up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 21 September 2026'), including the amendments made by the Crime and Policing Act 2026 in force from 29 June 2026 (S.I. 2026/689) and s 66 in force from 7 April 2026 (S.I. 2026/262). The as-enacted text is superseded.
Who it applies to
Child audience (designed for OR likely accessed by children) — any one of these:
- Service is specifically designed for children under 18
- Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- Disclosure is accessible within 2 clicks from main navigation
- Content is written at appropriate reading level (8th grade for general, lower for kids)
- Disclosure includes: what data is collected, why, how long kept, who it's shared with
- Last updated date is visible on the disclosure
- Disclosure is available in all languages the product supports
Questions people ask
- Does UK OSA Section 12(9)-(13) - Terms of service: children's safety measures (wit… apply to my service?
- It applies when at least one of: Service is specifically designed for children under 18; Service is likely to be accessed by children under 18.
- From when does this apply?
- UK OSA Section 12(9)-(13) - Terms of service: children's safety measures (wit… applies from 10 January 2024. Its current status is: in force.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.