Libera Chat receives legal advice that the Online Safety Act does not apply to

Libera Chat has successfully navigated the complexities of the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA), obtaining legal advice that suggests the contentious legislation likely does not apply to their service. This development comes after a period of seeking guidance on how to avoid potential regulatory overreach and protect their users' privacy.

• The legal counsel determined that while Libera Chat operates a 'regulated service' under the OSA (due to user-generated content), it lacks 'sufficient links to the UK'.
• Key criteria for 'links to the UK' include a 'significant number of UK users', UK users as a 'target market', or a 'material risk of significant harm' to UK individuals.
• Libera Chat's UK user base is considered insignificant relative to the UK population, their target market is not specifically UK-focused, and they actively enforce policies to prevent material harm.
• The presence of UK staff or servers does not automatically establish 'links to the UK', and servers can be moved.
• Libera Chat explicitly states they have no plans to implement ID requirements, citing user privacy concerns and the disproportionate risks involved.
• They believe Ofcom's current enforcement priorities are elsewhere, primarily focusing on file and image hosts with high risks of child sexual abuse material.
• The service commits to engaging constructively with any good-faith reports of abuse but is confident in its preventative measures.

This outcome offers a significant precedent for other online services grappling with similar regulatory frameworks, illustrating how a clear jurisdictional and user-base analysis can potentially exempt them from extraterritorial application of national laws, thereby safeguarding operational independence and user privacy.