Xbox vows to comply with Online Safety Act, but will it be so easy?

The Online Safety Act is in full swing, and big tech companies are scrambling to comply with the new UK laws. But will this adaptation be as simple as they’re making it out to be?

Following the UK’s enactment of the Online Safety Act, companies are doing everything in their power to comply with the new age verification laws.

One of the world’s leading video game brands, Microsoft’s Xbox, has released a statement professing its “ongoing commitment to player safety” in light of the new laws.

But can big players like Xbox handle the change? The company seems to think so, but one expert has his doubts.

What is Xbox doing to comply with the Online Safety Act?

Microsoft’s Xbox said that starting on July 28th, 2025, players who claim they’re 18 and over and are based in the UK will start seeing notifications prompting them to verify their age.

This is apparently a “one-time process for players in the UK,” suggesting that once the company verifies their age, they won’t have to provide these details again.

By 2026, age verification will be mandatory for UK players if they want full access to Xbox’s social features.

These features include voice or text communication and game invites, Xbox said in a statement.

Those who are unable to verify their age between now and 2026 will still have access to these features.

However, these social features will be limited to friends only until the age verification process is completed.

If a player chooses not to verify their age, certain aspects, such as previous purchases, gameplay history, achievements, and the ability to purchase games, will not be affected.

Yet, the company “encourages players to verify their age via this one-time process now to ensure uninterrupted use of social features on Xbox in the future.”

Can Xbox deal with this change? One expert might have the answer

Microsoft is a trillion-dollar tech company that holds influence all over the world. A little thing such as a new regulation in the UK can’t affect the company that much, can it?

While Microsoft, and subsequently Xbox, has the power to comply with the Online Safety Act, it might not be as easy as the company is making out.

That’s what one expert, Derek Jackson, chief operating officer and co-founder of Cyber Dive, told Cybernews.

The real challenge isn’t whether Xbox can technically pull this off. “Of course, they can. It’s Microsoft. They have the infrastructure,” Jackson told Cybernews, noting that it’s more about grappling with the aftermath of this type of regulation.

Jackson compared the Online Safety Act to building a lock, saying that the challenge begins when deciding who has the keys, what happens if the lock breaks, and whether this security feature keeps the right people out or makes it harder for people to enter.

Jackson suggests that laws like these force tech companies to walk the line between compliance and experience.

“Go too strict, and you frustrate users, lose engagement, and spark backlash from parents who have to keep inputting codes or recovering their kid’s accounts after the hundredth time they forgot their password. Go too loose, and you risk fines, headlines, and real harm to real people.”

Jackson, whose company, Cyber Dive, is designed to keep children safe online, believes that while companies want to protect children, they also want “frictionless signups, endless engagement, and accounts that convert to dollars on dollars.”

While Jackson believes that Xbox will adapt, users must be mindful that we don’t “confuse adaptation with alignment.”

What is the Online Safety Act?

The Online Safety Act is a new set of laws designed to protect children and adults online, the UK government said in an online explainer.

“It puts a range of new duties on social media companies and search services, making them more responsible for their users’ safety on their platforms.”

The act aims to protect users, primarily children, from a range of harmful online content, including but not limited to content promoting self-harm, eating disorders, suicide, and pornography.

Big tech companies must comply with the new regulations to protect vulnerable users. This means they need to offer age verification options so users can prove they’re of age.