Draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025

What happened: On 12 February 2025, the House of Commons voted to approve the Draft Online Safety Act 2023 (Category 1, Category 2A and Category 2B Threshold Conditions) Regulations 2025. The regulations passed by 320 votes to 178. These regulations set out the numerical thresholds that determine which online platforms fall into which regulatory category under the Online Safety Act 2023, with higher categories facing stricter legal duties.

Why it matters: The threshold conditions determine which tech companies must comply with the most demanding safety obligations under the Online Safety Act, including duties around protecting users from illegal content and, for the largest platforms, additional requirements around transparency and user empowerment. Category 1 covers the largest and most widely used platforms, while Categories 2A and 2B capture a broader range of services. By setting these thresholds in secondary legislation (rules made under powers granted by an earlier Act), the government operationalises the framework Ofcom will use to regulate companies such as large social media platforms. Platforms that fall within Category 1 face the fullest set of obligations, so where the line is drawn has direct consequences for how many and which companies face the strictest scrutiny.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along government and opposition lines. All 311 Labour and Labour and Co-operative Party MPs who voted supported the regulations, as did four Democratic Unionist Party members and five independents. Every Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, Reform UK, and Green Party MP who voted opposed the regulations, though for varying reasons. Some critics argued the thresholds were drawn too narrowly, excluding platforms that should face stricter rules, while others took the position that the regime was too burdensome for the tech sector. The vote sits within a broader legislative pattern in which the government has consistently carried digital and technology measures against unified cross-party opposition.