Schedule 12: OFCOM’s powers of entry, inspection and audit Disclosure of information Section 115: Disclosure of information
This section amends section 393 of the Communications Act 2003 (general restrictions on disclosure of information) to include new provisions under this Act. Section 393 provides that, subject to specific exceptions, information obtained by OFCOM in the exercise of their functions under the Communications Act 2003, Broadcasting Act 1990 and Broadcasting Act 1996 cannot be disclosed without the consent of the business in question.
	Subsection (2) has the effect that, subject to the specific exceptions in section 393 of the Communications Act 2003, OFCOM cannot disclose information with respect to a business which they have obtained by exercising their powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 without the consent of the business in question.
	Subsection (3) amends the list of exceptions in section 393(2) of the Communications Act 2003 so OFCOM can disclose information about a business, without its consent, for the purposes of any civil proceedings brought under the Online Safety Act 2023.
	Subsections (4) and (5) amend the list of exemptions in section 393 of the Communications Act 2003 so as to allow OFCOM to disclose information obtained using its Online Safety Act powers about a business, without its consent, to a coroner or the procurator fiscal.
	Subsection (6) has the effect that the section 393 Communications Act 2003 restriction on disclosure does not apply to details of enforcement action under section 127 or research or other information published under Schedule 8.
	Similarly, subsection (7) ensures that section 393 of the Communications Act 2003 does not limit the matters that may be included in, or made public as part of, a report made by OFCOM under the Online Safety Act 2023.