The UK Online Safety Act does nothing to challenge the dominance of Big Tech.

Government needs to use competition powers so we can choose moderation engines and switch social media provider without losing our networks.

Read our interoperability report ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/making-platforms-accountable-empowering-users-and-creating-safety/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol #fediverse

ORG warned the UK Parliament that VPNs must not face the chop.

Banning or age-gating VPNs will shatter security and free expression in a self-defeating attempt to make the unworkable workable by playing into the hands predators online.

Read more ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/new-briefing-warns-against-restricting-vpns/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol #vpn

The UK Online Safety Act does nothing to challenge the dominance of Big Tech.

Government needs to use competition powers so we can choose moderation engines and switch social media provider without losing our networks.

Read our interoperability report ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/making-platforms-accountable-empowering-users-and-creating-safety/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol #fediverse

The UK Online Safety Act is badly designed.

ORG published a report setting out a rights-based approach to fix it.

One that limits the scope of the Act to minimise threats to free expression, our privacy rights and small sites.

Read more ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/how-to-fix-the-online-safety-act-a-rights-first-approach/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

Small sites have been hit with onerous duties under the UK Online Safety Act. Many have shut down or geo-blocked the UK.

ORG published a guide through the regulatory maze of duties placed on online service providers by the Act and Ofcom.

Read more ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/online-safety-act-a-guide-for-organisations-working-with-the-act/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

People have been forced to hand over personal data to unregulated age-verification companies to access content and app features way beyond porn.

The UK Online Safety Act put in place no regulatory standards for privacy or security.

We called for regulation ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/online-safety-act-org-calls-for-regulation-of-age-assurance-industry/

#ORG2025 #digitalrights #OnlineSafetyAct #onlinesafety #OSA #privacy #ageverification #freedomofexpression #ukpolitics #ukpol

This:

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/24/10-not-so-hidden-dangers-of-age-verification/

#AgeVerification #Issues #Racism

In today's episode of I Told You So:

May 2025 ⚠️
"Daily occurrences of data breach incidents have taught us we cannot trust these services to safeguard our data. Data breaches for this sensitive information are only a matter of time.

The concentration of such valuable data will likely be monetized and resold either by the platforms themselves, by the for-profit third-party "age assurance" providers they use, or eventually by the criminals who stole it from them."

Source: Privacy Guides

October 2025
"A hack impacting Discord’s age verification process shows in stark terms the risk of tech companies collecting users’ ID documents. Now the hackers are posting peoples’ IDs and other sensitive information online."

Source: 404 Media

#AgeVerification #Privacy #Discord

You can refuse to provide official ID or biometric data for social media accounts requiring age verification.

Actually, I bet if everyone did refuse, and let their account dormant for a couple of weeks, you would suddenly see American Big Tech transforming into the fiercest defender of your privacy rights, using their powerful network of lobbyists to fight these invasive government regulations.

They need you more than you need them.
Force them to work for your rights.
Do not comply.

#Privacy #AgeVerification #Biometrics #AusPol #USpol

#AgeVerification #Vimeo

Okay, I sort of get the idea for mature-content websites, but why on earth does Vimeo now have an age check? What "regional regulations" are they referring to?

So they expect people to upload credit card details or ID-card photos to a third-party agency, like the discord leak never happened.

Last week in the United States of America, Congress began fast-tracking nearly 20 bills in a massive effort to enact massive censorship on the internet, decimate your ability to use computers privately, and severely restrict free speech online.

We sat down with @taylorlorenz to dissect these 'Bad Internet Bills' and what you need to know to stop them: https://www.privacyguides.org/videos/2025/12/16/taylor-lorenz-on-kosa-the-screen-act-and-repealing-section-230/

https://neat.tube/w/tS3ho29H2YTJJjEh8sXuNy
https://youtu.be/q0hE4EM7RRo

#KOSA #BadInternetBills #SCREENAct #AppStoreAccountabilityAct #USpol #USgov #Trump #Censorship #Privacy #AgeVerification #TaylorLorenz #USA #US #PrivacyGuides #Video

Fancy a digital chastity belt?

The UK government wants Apple and Google to stop you from taking or sending pics of your bits.

Intrusive scanning tech on your phone would block nudes unless you verify your age with biometrics or official ID.

It's creepy mission creep.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/12/uk-to-encourage-apple-and-google-to-put-nudity-blocking-systems-on-phones/

#surveillance #ageverification #privacy #digitalrights #ukpolitics #ukpol #apple #google

The UK Online Safety Act is a mess. MPs are debating the petition for its repeal now.

ORG calls for a rights-based approach:

Limit its scope to minimise threats to freedom of expression/small sites, and regulate age verification providers to protect privacy.

Read our briefing ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/publications/briefing-online-safety-act-parliamentary-petition-debate/

#onlinesafetyact #osa #onlinesafety #freedomofexpression #privacy #censorship #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

If you barely use an account and
don't want to have to give your official ID to use it (which really you should refuse),

Then I recommend you log in as soon as possible to delete it fully from the internal deletion feature :nes_fire:

• Many accounts are easy to delete now from within the account.

• Once you are locked out of your account for refusing to provide an official ID, you might never be able to delete your account and data again.

• If you are already in this situation, and your region is covered by a decent privacy law, you might still be able to have your data deleted with the help of your local Data Protection Authority. Reach out to them.

• Be mindful about your other accounts that may depend on this account for logins or other.

#Privacy #AgeVerification #IdentityVerification #RightToDelete

An amazing resource by EFF around age verification on the internet.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/12/age-verification-coming-internet-we-built-you-resource-hub-fight-back

#ageverification #eff #tech #internet #legal #privacy
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The UK Online Safety Act returns to Parliament.

It's enabled iffy age-assurance providers, wrongly censored content and shuttered small sites while doing nothing to tackle the dominance of major platforms.

Tell your MP to attend the debate on 15 December ⬇️

https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-your-mp-attend-debate-online-safety-act

#onlinesafetyact #onlinesafety #osa #freedomofexpression #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol