Jess Carter, the Online Safety Act and a problem that won’t go away

Online racist and misogynistic abuse of Lionesses defender Jess Carter during the Women’s Euros echoes that faced by Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho after the men’s Euro 2020 final.

The Online Safety Act 2023 aimed to make the UK the world leader in this area, so why are we still asking how to tackle online abuse? 

The Act introduced several new criminal offences, such as encouraging or assisting serious self-harm, sending false information intended to cause non-trivial harm, and sending threatening communications.

There is also a “lawful but awful” category of material in the Act – content considered harmful but not illegal – where the recent wave of abuse directed at Jess Carter would likely fall. 

Whether the Act is fit for purpose is already under scrutiny, but the more relevant issue for athletes is that its protection focuses more on child safety and is currently not designed to protect everyone from all forms of online harm. 

Timing is also an issue. The Act passed amid fast-evolving online behaviour, so many of the rules are still being implemented and few enforcement examples exist, therefore its deterrent effect remains unclear. 

What action can be taken in Carter’s case? 

The Illegal Content Codes of Practice came into force in March 2025 and requires platforms to protect users from illegal content and activity. The Act sets out a list of the most serious offences, such as harassment, abuse and hate offences. 

Online platforms must take steps to de-risk their services from being used to commit these “priority offences” or exposing users to illegal content in their search results. It will be for Ofcom to investigate and enforce violations and it must show that it is willing to take action against social media companies for the rules to be taken seriously. 

The police can also use other existing laws to take action, as seen when those who racially abused Saka, Rashford and Sancho were prosecuted. Those same laws apply to the abuse suffered by Jess Carter. 

Civil action can be taken against any infringement of a person’s privacy rights, defamatory publications or harassment. In the most extreme cases, injunctions can stop harassment online. 

Experts can also identify and remove concerning content, assess risks and mitigate harm, and this is now becoming more common in the sports industry. 

Taking action requires prompt advice and a team with a proactive agenda. Often, it is down to the individual and their team to act rather than waiting for Ofcom.

How do we put an end to online abuse? 

Jess Carter’s ordeal demonstrates the difficulty of tackling online abuse. The England players refused to take the knee before their semi-final game and, instead of symbolic gestures, called for real action. 

Lioness Keira Walsh has publicly pleaded for more protection. Meanwhile, Sport England chair Chris Boardman wrote to Ofcom and called for the Act to be strengthened. 

Ofcom responded that while it will be holding social media companies to account, it needs to happen alongside education and law enforcement. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy also declared that “it’s incumbent on all of us to call this out”. 

Calling out online abuse is a step forward, but it is not enough. We need government, regulators and law enforcement to ensure both the individuals who post such material and the platforms who disseminate it are held to account. 

Without enforcement, we’ll still be having these conversations for years to come.

Mark Jones, Hanna Basha and Jamie Hurworth are lawyers at Payne Hicks Beach.