Discussion
For any fellow Mastodon server admins in the UK, I'm aware of the Social Media Platforms (Ofcom Licensing) Act 2026.
It would make it basically illegal to run a Mastodon server as a UK citizen.
It's a private member's bill and it's not likely to pass, I'm starting the lobbying against it. It won't pass on my watch. It's a good faith effort to solve a very specific problem but it's too broad.
https://bills.parliament.uk/publications/67647/documents/8738
One of the more exciting loopholes in the US legal system:
You cannot have a law struck down as unconstitutional unless the person bringing the suit can prove that they, personally, were harmed by it. This means that a bad law must hurt someone before it can be overturned. Before the Supreme Court will hear a case, it must typically hurt many people. There are other fun related issues where a law can disenfranchise someone and remove their standing to bring the case.
In contrast, the English legal system (not sure about the Scottish equivalent) has a concept of judicial review that allows a law to be challenged before it is enforced.
@david_chisnall
That doesn't seem to work on the right to bear arms.
@LukefromDC @GossiTheDog
@GossiTheDog Do we have a legal definition of a 'social media platform' yet? It seems like ministers are keen on passing vague laws, but not on getting into detail.
@gsquirrel @GossiTheDog this bill has one in clause 3. it's far too broad. as far as i can tell, it would include single-user fedi instances, IRC, USEnet and email.
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@GossiTheDog At least in the US requiring a license for speech/pubishing/etc is actually unconstitutional. That means courts would theoretically refuse to convict and sentence people for defying it unless eiher Trump replaces the judges or the First Amendment gets abolished.
Of course if a person charged for ANYTHING isn't a cishet white Christian conservative, all laws and rights may not apply in the current regime here.