The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025

Made: 2nd September 2025

The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the power conferred by section 142(1) of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025[^f00001].

Citation

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 2) Regulations 2025.

Commencement

2

Section 124 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (retention of information by providers of internet services in connection with death of child) comes into force, so far as not already in force[^f00002], on 30th September 2025.

Signed

Jones of Whitchurch — Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State — Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — 2nd September 2025

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Explanatory Note

These Regulations bring into force section 124 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18) (“the 2025 Act”). These are the second commencement regulations made under the Act.

Regulation 2 commences section 124 of the 2025 Act which amends the Online Safety Act 2023 (c. 50) (“the 2023 Act”) to include provision in that Act about the retention of information by providers of certain regulated services (for example, social media providers) or any other relevant person in connection with an investigation into the death of a child. ‘Regulated service’ is defined in section 4(4) of the 2023 Act and these provisions apply only in relation to those regulated services that are within section 101(E1) of the 2023 Act (as inserted by section 124 of the 2025 Act). ‘Relevant person’ is defined in section 101(7) of the 2023 Act.

An impact assessment has not been prepared for this instrument as a full impact assessment was published in relation to the provisions in the Data (Use and Access) Bill. Copies can be obtained from the UK Government website at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-use-and-access-bill-supporting-documents or from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology at 22-26 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2EG, United Kingdom.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2025 c. 18.

[^f00002]: Section 124 came into force on the day on which the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (c. 18) received Royal Assent so far as it confers power to make regulations or is otherwise necessary for enabling the exercise of such a power (see section 142(2)(h) of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025).