Section 27 Interpretation of ChapterI1

In this Chapter—

• “appointment notice” has the meaning given by section 15(1);

• “authorised officer” in relation to a content removal notice, means the member of a relevant police force, or officer of the National Crime Agency, who gave the notice;

• “chief officer”—

  1. (a)

     in relation to a police force in England and Wales, means the chief officer of police of the force;

  2. (b)

     in relation to any other relevant police force, means the chief constable of that force;

• “contact details”, in relation to an individual, means the individual’s—

  1. (a)

     full name;

  2. (b)

     telephone number;

  3. (c)

     email address;

  4. (d)

     residential address, or other service address, in the United Kingdom;

• “content” has the same meaning as in the Online Safety Act 2023 (see section 236(1) of that Act);

• “content manager”, in relation to a service provider, means the individual for the time being appointed as the content manager of the provider (whether in accordance with an appointment notice or under section 16 or 17);

• “content removal notice” has the meaning given by section 21(4);

• “coordinating officer” means the individual designated as such under section 14(1);

• “decision notice” means a notice given under section 22(6);

• “encounter”, in relation to content, has the same meaning as in the Online Safety Act 2023 (see section 236(1) of that Act);

• “entity” has the same meaning as in that Act (see section 236(1) of that Act);

• “initial 48-hour period”, in relation to a content removal notice, means the 48-hour period specified in the notice as mentioned in section 21(5)(c);

• “issuing force”—

  1. (a)

     in relation to a content removal notice given by a member of a relevant police force, means that force;

  2. (b)

     in relation to a content removal notice given by a National Crime Agency officer, means the National Crime Agency;

• “relevant police force”—

  1. (a)

     in relation to England and Wales, means—

     1. (i)

        a police force in England and Wales, or

     2. (ii)

        the Ministry of Defence Police;

  2. (b)

     in relation to Scotland, means—

     1. (i)

        the Police Service of Scotland, or

     2. (ii)

        the Ministry of Defence Police;

  3. (c)

     in relation to Northern Ireland, means—

     1. (i)

        the Police Service of Northern Ireland, or

     2. (ii)

        the Ministry of Defence Police;

• “relevant search service” and “relevant user-to-user service” have the meanings given by section 13;

• “required information” has the meaning given by section 15(3);

• “review notice” has the meaning given by section 22(2)(a);

• “search content” and “search results” have the meanings given by section 57 of the Online Safety Act 2023;

• “senior authorised officer”, in relation to a relevant police force, means—

  1. (a)

     the chief officer of the relevant police force, or

  2. (b)

     a member of the relevant police force of at least the rank of inspector authorised for the purposes of this Chapter by the chief officer;

• “senior authorised officer”, in relation to the National Crime Agency, means—

  1. (a)

     the Director General of the National Crime Agency, or

  2. (b)

     an officer of the Agency who—

     1. (i)

        holds a position in the Agency the seniority of which is at least equivalent to that of the rank of inspector in a relevant police force, and

     2. (ii)

        is authorised for the purposes of this Chapter by the Director General;

• “service address” has the same meaning as in the Companies Acts (see section 1141 of the Companies Act 2006);

• “service provider” has the meaning given by section 13.

For the purposes of this Chapter, a reference to “removing” content—

and related expressions are to be read accordingly.

The following provisions of the Online Safety Act 2023 apply for the purposes of this Chapter as they apply for the purposes of that Act—