The Online Safety Act 2023 creates a new offence of encouraging or assisting serious self-harm. The offence applies from 31 January 2024. 

What is the new offence? 

A person commits an offence if: 

 they do a relevant act capable of encouraging or assisting the serious self-harm of another person;  

and their act was intended to encourage or assist the serious self-harm of another person.  

“serious self-harm” means self-harm amounting to, in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, grievous bodily harm within the meaning of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. 

The Act defines the means of communication by which a person “does a relevant act”, which includes in-person or electronic communications, publications, correspondence, and the sending or giving of items with stored electronic data. 

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment.