Online Safety Act 2023

SCHEDULE 7 Priority offences

Section 59 Assisting suicide 1 An offence under section 2 of the Suicide Act 1961 (assisting suicide etc). 2 An offence under section 13 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 (c. 20 (N.I.)) (assisting suicide etc). Encouraging or assisting serious self-harm 2A An offence under section 184 of this Act (encouraging or assisting serious self-harm). Threats to kill 3 An offence under section 16 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 (threats to kill). Public order offences, harassment, stalking and fear or provocation of violence 4 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Public Order Act 1986— (a) section 4 (fear or provocation of violence); (b) section 4A (intentional harassment, alarm or distress); (c) section 5 (harassment, alarm or distress); 5 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Public Order Act 1986— (a) section 18 (use of words or behaviour or display of written material); (b) section 19 (publishing or distributing written material); (c) section 21 (distributing, showing or playing a recording); (d) section 29B (use of words or behaviour or display of written material); (e) section 29C (publishing or distributing written material); (f) section 29E (distributing, showing or playing a recording). 6 An offence under section 50A of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 (racially-aggravated harassment). 7 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997— (a) section 2 (harassment); (b) section 2A (stalking); (c) section 4 (putting people in fear of violence); (d) section 4A (stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress). 8 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Protection from Harassment (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (S.I. 1997/1180 (N.I. 9))— (a) Article 4 (harassment); (b) Article 6 (putting people in fear of violence). 9 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998— (a) section 31 (racially or religiously aggravated public order offences); (b) section 32 (racially or religiously aggravated harassment etc). 10 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13)— (a) section 38 (threatening or abusive behaviour); (b) section 39 (stalking). 11 An offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship). Drugs and psychoactive substances 12 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971— (a) section 4(3) (unlawful supply, or offer to supply, of controlled drugs); (b) section 9A (prohibition of supply etc of articles for administering or preparing controlled drugs); (c) section 19 (inciting any other offence under that Act). 13 An offence under section 5 of the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 (supplying, or offering to supply, a psychoactive substance). Firearms and other weapons 14 An offence under section 1(1) or (2) of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 (sale etc of flick knife etc). 15 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Firearms Act 1968— (a) section 1(1) (purchase etc of firearms or ammunition without certificate); (b) section 2(1) (purchase etc of shot gun without certificate); (c) section 3(1) (dealing etc in firearms or ammunition by way of trade or business without being registered); (d) section 3(2) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to person other than registered dealer); (e) section 5(1), (1A) or (2A) (purchase, sale etc of prohibited weapons); (f) section 21(5) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to persons previously convicted of crime); (g) section 22(1) (purchase etc of firearms or ammunition by person under 18); (h) section 24 (supplying firearms to minors); (i) section 24A (supplying imitation firearms to minors). 16 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Crossbows Act 1987— (a) section 1 (sale and letting on hire of crossbow); (b) section 2 (purchase and hiring of crossbow). 17 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1988— (a) section 141(1) or (4) (sale etc of offensive weapons); (b) section 141A (sale of knives etc to persons under 18). 18 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/3160 (N.I. 24))— (a) Article 53 (sale etc of knives); (b) Article 54 (sale of knives etc to minors). 19 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Knives Act 1997— (a) section 1 (unlawful marketing of knives); (b) section 2 (publication of material in connection with marketing of knives). 20 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/702 (N.I. 3))— (a) Article 24 (sale etc of firearms or ammunition without certificate); (b) Article 37(1) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to person without certificate etc); (c) Article 45(1) or (2) (purchase, sale etc of prohibited weapons); (d) Article 63(8) (sale etc of firearms or ammunition to people who have been in prison etc); (e) Article 66A (supplying imitation firearms to minors). 21 An offence under section 36(1)(c) or (d) of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (sale etc of realistic imitation firearms). 22 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 10)— (a) section 2 (requirement for air weapon certificate); (b) section 24 (restrictions on sale etc of air weapons). Assisting illegal immigration 23 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Immigration Act 1971— (a) section 24(A1), (B1), (C1) or (D1) (illegal entry and similar offences); (b) section 25 (assisting unlawful immigration). Human trafficking 24 An offence under section 2 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (human trafficking). 25 An offence under section 1 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 (asp 12) (human trafficking). 26 An offence under section 2 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (c. 2 (N.I.)) (human trafficking). Sexual exploitation 27 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003— (a) section 52 (causing or inciting prostitution for gain); (b) section 53 (controlling prostitution for gain). 28 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/1769 (N.I. 2))— (a) Article 62 (causing or inciting prostitution for gain); (b) Article 63 (controlling prostitution for gain). Sexual images 28A An offence under any of the following provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003— (a) section 66A (sending etc photograph or film of genitals); (b) section 66B (sharing or threatening to share intimate photograph or film). (c) section 66E (creating purported intimate image of adult); (d) section 66F (requesting the creation of purported intimate image of adult). 29 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 — (a) section 63 (possession of extreme pornographic images); (b) section 67A (possession or publication of pornographic images of strangulation or suffocation) ; (c) section 67E (possession or publication of pornographic images of sex between relatives); (d) section 67H (possession or publication of pornographic images of sexual activity with child under 16). 30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 An offence under section 2 of the Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 22) (disclosing, or threatening to disclose, an intimate photograph or film). Proceeds of crime 32 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002— (a) section 327 (concealing etc criminal property); (b) section 328 (arrangements facilitating acquisition etc of criminal property); (c) section 329 (acquisition, use and possession of criminal property). Fraud 33 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Fraud Act 2006— (a) section 2 (fraud by false representation); (b) section 4 (fraud by abuse of position); (c) section 7 (making or supplying articles for use in frauds); (d) section 9 (participating in fraudulent business carried on by sole trader etc). 34 An offence under section 49(3) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (articles for use in fraud). Financial services 35 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000— (a) section 23 (contravention of prohibition on carrying on regulated activity unless authorised or exempt); (b) section 24 (false claims to be authorised or exempt); (c) section 25 (contravention of restrictions on financial promotion). 36 An offence under any of the following provisions of the Financial Services Act 2012— (a) section 89 (misleading statements); (b) section 90 (misleading impressions). Foreign interference 37 An offence under section 13 of the National Security Act 2023 (foreign interference). Animal welfare 38 An offence under section 4(1) of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (unnecessary suffering of an animal). Inchoate offences 39 (1) An offence of attempting or conspiring to commit an offence specified in this Schedule. (2) An offence under Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act 2007 (encouraging or assisting) in relation to an offence specified in this Schedule, or (in Scotland) inciting a person to commit such an offence. (3) An offence of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence specified in this Schedule, or (in Scotland) being involved art and part in the commission of such an offence.