Ofcom has launched a Call for Evidence on researchers’ access to information from regulated online services under the Online Safety Act 2023. Under the Act, Ofcom is required to produce a report that must:

1. describe how, and to what extent, persons carrying out independent research into online safety matters are currently able to obtain information from providers of regulated services to inform their research;
2. explore the legal and other issues which currently constrain the sharing of information for such purposes; and
3. assess the extent to which greater access to information for such purposes might be achieved.

The Call for Evidence recognises that a number of online service providers already have a variety of mechanisms in place to share information with researchers, and that practices have evolved to meet regulatory requirements outside the UK such as those found in the Digital Services Act. Ofcom seeks to gain insight and evidence about these practices and, more generally, to understand both “the technical aspects of secure information provision as well as the legal frameworks, governance structures, rules or standards that are required for these to function in practice”.

Ofcom also seeks views about how data protection and privacy laws might interact with information-sharing arrangements, in addition to understanding the technical, security, and financial implications of sharing information from online services with independent researchers.

The Call for Evidence is open until 17 January 2025, and more information can be found here.