The act addresses policy issues related to electronic communications infrastructure and services, and updates the conditions for and sentencing of criminal copyright infringement.

[17] Although privacy and technical safeguards for the sharing of citizens' data are not included in the act, the government stated that it intended to publish codes of practice following a public consultation.

[34] Myles Jackman, ORG's legal director, highlighted the potential vulnerability of age verification systems to hacking, and suggested that it would result in more people using virtual private networks, or anonymous web browsers such as Tor.

BILETA, the British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association, also criticised the proposal to increase maximum jail term in its submission to the Government's consultation.

Jerry Fishenden, co-chair of the Cabinet Office’s Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group until he resigned in protest on 2 May 2017,[41] expressed the opinion that the bill was based on an "obsolete" model of data sharing.

[42] David Kaye, a special rapporteur for the United Nations, wrote an open letter to the UK government in 2017, raising concerns about the bill.

She spoke of her belief that the bill lacks the transparency needed to avoid the kind of problems that arose with NHS Digital's abandoned Care.data programme.

[44] The Conservative Party manifesto commitment to introduce age verification followed the publication of research into children viewing pornography online that was commissioned by the NSPCC.

[48] Their argument that there is accepted legal precedent that a government cannot pass a law, secure royal assent for it and then frustrate the will of Parliament by deciding not to introduce it[49] saw them win permission in July 2020 for a judicial review.