user-to-user service
A service enabling user interaction and content sharing.
How the laws define this
Both sources establish that a user-to-user service centers on enabling users to interact with each other on sites or apps by creating, posting, uploading, or sharing content generated by other users, such as images, videos, messages, comments, or data. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, providing this type of service brings a provider within statutory duties whenever the platform is accessible to people in the UK. The primary divergence between these descriptions lies in their explicit treatment of artificial intelligence and automated features. While the Online Safety Act 2023 defines the concept through broad user interactions with human-created content, the Open letter to UK online service providers regarding Generative AI and chatbots explicitly expands this scope to include services where Generative AI chatbots enable content sharing or where user-created chatbots are made available to other users.
Synthesised from the 2 statutory definitions below. Each one is quoted in full, with its source.
Definitions (2)
A service that enables users to create, post, upload, share or otherwise interact with content created by other users; it is a key regulated category under the Act and, when accessible to people in the UK, brings the provider within the statutory duties set out by the Online Safety Act.
Sites or apps that allow their users to interact with each other by sharing images, videos, messages, comments, or data. This includes services where Generative AI chatbots enable content sharing or user-created chatbots are made available to others.
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