As a UK-based website, we are required to comply with the Online Safety Act (2023). Here’s how we’re ensuring the safety of our users and meeting our obligations under the law.
What Is the Online Safety Act?
The Online Safety Act is a UK law that requires online platforms to reduce harm and prevent illegal content. This includes, but is not limited to, 17 priority offences:
- Terrorism
- Harassment, stalking, threats, and abusive offences
- Coercive and controlling behaviour
- Hate offences
- Intimate image abuse
- Extreme pornography
- Child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA)
- Sexual exploitation of adults
- Unlawful immigration
- Human trafficking
- Fraud and financial offences
- Proceeds of crime
- Assisting or encouraging suicide
- Drugs and psychoactive substances
- Weapons offences
- Foreign interference
- Animal cruelty
While some smaller forums and chat platforms have shut down due to resource constraints, we have no plans to do so. The Act makes it clear that enforcement will be proportionate. The ICO and Ofcom will contact platforms first to discuss concerns before any formal penalties are issued, and priority is likely to be given to larger platforms before smaller ones like us.
What Are We Required to Do?
All platforms must:
- Provide clear and accessible terms and conditions
- Offer a complaints tool to report illegal content
- Have a process in place to assess and remove illegal content
- Appoint a named individual responsible for compliance, who can be contacted by Ofcom
We meet all these requirements—and more.
⸻
How We’re Complying
Clear Terms and Conditions
Our Terms of Service page outlines the rules of using TARDIS Guide in plain language. We will soon add a mandatory checkbox to confirm users have read and agree to these terms.
Note: Pornographic imagery is strictly prohibited.
⸻
Reporting Illegal Content
We already have a flagging system in place:
- Use the Flag icon on forum posts, chat messages, or reviews to report potentially illegal content.
- Staff are notified and will review reports promptly.
- All complaints are handled through an internal moderation process.
⸻
Moderation and Content Removal
Our moderation system includes:
- Human moderation of all publicly posted content
- Automatic detection of known CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) via hashing tools
- Proactive bot-detection and spam-mitigation measures
Direct messaging (DMs) and user-to-user chat are not encrypted. If flagged, staff can review private communications to investigate breaches. Users also have tools to disable private messaging or ignore other users entirely.
Our moderators are all unpaid volunteers.
⸻
Responsible Individual
Shaun Robinson is the designated contact for compliance with the Online Safety Act.
⸻
Age Verification
We currently do not implement age verification. Here’s why:
- The site contains no pornographic or age-restricted content
- It is not directed at children under 14 or likely to attract them in large numbers
- We take proactive steps to ensure a safe environment for all users
We will continue monitoring regulatory guidance and industry standards. If age verification becomes necessary, we’ll implement it in a proportionate and privacy-conscious way.
⸻
Summary
TARDIS Guide is committed to providing a safe, welcoming platform that complies with the Online Safety Act while protecting user experience and privacy. Our approach is practical, proportionate, and continually reviewed.