Sample Brief
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This is not a description of the product — it is the product. Below: the opening of a real issue of the UK Online Safety Act Monitor, exactly as subscribers receive it. Scroll to read ↓
Sample outputs
DSA Enforcement
A live sample of the Vellum Brief format — covering DSA enforcement developments with what changed, why it matters, and 30/60/90-day decision points.
Open PDF →UK Online Safety Act
A sample of the Vellum brief format — covering Ofcom enforcement, age-assurance duties, and platform compliance under the Online Safety Act, with 30/60/90-day decision points.
Open PDF →EU AI Act Ecosystem
A sample of the Vellum brief format — tracking EU AI Act implementation with structured analysis of regulatory milestones, compliance deadlines, and exposure areas.
Open PDF →Saudi Arabia Financial Regulation
A sample of the Vellum brief format — covering SAMA licensing, CMA consultations, and enforcement, with 30/60/90-day decision points.
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Request a tailored sample →United Kingdom
UK Online Safety Act Monitor
28 May–11 June 2026
Bottom line
Ofcom is building the interpretive and statutory basis for AI-chatbot supervision before any binding AI-service duties exist: the AI strategy supplies the frame, the 2026 amendment powers supply the route, and hard statutory deadlines now force the pace. Around it, the wider window shows a regulator shifting from rule-making to real-time operational supervision.
Key developments
1Ofcom sets crisis protocol code measures
- Status
- Statement published — measures pending formal Code incorporation
- Confidence
- High
- Date
- 9 June 2026
- Actor
- Ofcom
Ofcom published a formal statement on 9 June 2026 setting out new measures to be included in the Illegal Content Codes of Practice and the Protection of Children Codes of Practice for user-to-user services. The statement recommends that specified user-to-user services prepare and apply a crisis protocol to mitigate and manage risks arising from a significant increase in relevant illegal content or content harmful to children, and that certain large user-to-user services maintain a dedicated law-enforcement communication channel for crisis situations, once those measures are formally incorporated.
Current legal position
The Illegal Content Codes of Practice came into force on 17 March 2025 and the Protection of Children Codes of Practice on 25 July 2025. These Codes set out recommended steps providers may take to comply with their OSA duties; following the Codes confers a presumption of compliance. The crisis-protocol measures published on 9 June 2026 are Ofcom-decided recommended measures pending the statutory amendment process — they are not yet directly applicable as operative Code measures.
Likely landing zone
Formal incorporation into both Codes is assessed as likely, given that Ofcom has already published its decision statement and the measures reflect a clearly articulated policy rationale linked to the 2024 Southport riots. Providers that act on these measures now, ahead of formal incorporation, appear to have a compliance advantage.
Assessment
This is Ofcom’s most consequential output in the coverage period: a published regulatory decision, not a consultation. The sequencing is notable — the statement (9 June) was followed a day later by the Belfast open letter, which invokes existing OSA duties while the crisis-protocol measures remain pending formal Code incorporation.
EvidenceOfcom statement and announcement, 9 June 2026 [S09][S10][S11]
2Ofcom sets AI strategy for online safety
- Status
- Strategic document published — no immediate operative obligations
- Confidence
- High
- Date
- 4 June 2026
- Actor
- Ofcom
Ofcom published its Strategic Approach to AI 2026-2027 on 4 June 2026 — its third annual cross-sector AI update. Its online-safety-relevant work includes research into trust in, and harms from, AI chatbots; work on generative-AI search overviews and agentic AI (including autonomous content moderation); a commitment to ensure in-scope AI tools and services understand their OSA obligations; and explicit preparation for new responsibilities following the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026.
Current legal position
The OSA s.216A regulation-making power was inserted by the Crime and Policing Act 2026; no regulations have yet been made under it. The power is broad: it defines an ‘AI service’ by reference to the capability to generate AI-generated content, and permits regulations addressing risks from illegal AI-generated content and the use of AI services to commit or facilitate priority offences.
Likely landing zone
The strategic document is assessed as an indicator of Ofcom’s intended supervisory direction on AI safety and the OSA, rather than an immediate obligation. Providers using AI for content moderation, recommendation or generation — and operators of AI chatbots, AI companions or generative-AI search — should monitor how Ofcom operationalises this strategy in code amendments and enforcement guidance.
EvidenceOfcom publication, 4 June 2026 [S01]
Decision points — next 30 / 60 / 90 days
Crisis-protocol amendment process. Secretary of State review and Parliamentary approval of Ofcom’s crisis-protocol Code amendments — tracking the process identifies the point at which the measures become part of the formal compliance benchmark.
NCII hash-matching scrutiny. If neither House objects, Ofcom must issue the amended Codes, effective 21 days after issue. In-scope operators should use this period for gap analysis against the draft.
Ofcom implementation roadmap. Final statement on new priority offences expected summer 2026; the age assurance report will assess how services have used age assurance for OSA compliance.
Sources
Every claim in a Vellum brief is anchored to a listed source — dated, linked, and reliability-rated. This issue cites 14 sources; a sample:
- [S01]Ofcom: “Ofcom’s Strategic Approach to AI 2026-2027”, 4 June 2026
- [S02]UK legislation: “Crime and Policing Act 2026 (operative)”, 29 April 2026
- [S05]childnet.com: “Childnet’s response to the growing up in the online world consultation”, 2 June 2026
- [S09]Ofcom: “Statement: Crisis response protocol”, 9 June 2026
You have just read a fraction of an eleven-page issue. The full brief continues with five further developments, decision points across all three windows, and the complete rated source list.
What a brief includes
A typical Vellum Brief may include
Coverage window
A clearly defined period so the client can track developments in sequence. Every brief is time-anchored from the outset.
Executive summary
The most important developments, implications, and near-term watchpoints — structured for the time-constrained reader.
What changed
A focused account of the developments that materially changed the picture during the coverage window.
Why it matters
Clear explanation of relevance to the client's legal, policy, operational, or strategic position — not generic commentary.
Confidence ratings
Direct treatment of what is known, what is assessed, and what remains unresolved — expressed as explicit confidence ratings. Clients see the evidential basis, not just the conclusion.
Decision points
Issues that may require attention over the next 30, 60, and 90 days — structured for forward planning.
What to watch next
Signals likely to matter in the next reporting cycle. Designed to inform standing attention rather than reactive monitoring.
A Vellum Brief is not designed to look busy. It is designed to be useful. The structure is intentionally restrained so that clients can identify the signal quickly, understand the evidentiary basis, and act with greater confidence.
Delivery modes
One product, two ways to receive it
The brief format is consistent whether a client selects one ecosystem or coordinates coverage across several. The editorial standard does not change.
Either route produces the same kind of output:
- Time-bounded coverage window
- Structured executive summary
- What changed, with named sources
- Confidence ratings on each assessment
- 30/60/90-day decision points
Cadence is agreed at onboarding — weekly, biweekly, monthly, or quarterly. Delivery expectations are agreed at onboarding for the selected ecosystems. Every brief is reviewed and signed off by a named editor before delivery. To discuss coverage, contact us.
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The samples above show the format. The next step is a conversation about which ecosystems fit your team and how the reporting should be coordinated.