Okay so now they are moving past ‘protect the children’ how long do we think it'll be before trans content is defined as ‘self-harm’ and criminalised for all ages?
Okay so now they are moving past ‘protect the children’ how long do we think it'll be before trans content is defined as ‘self-harm’ and criminalised for all ages?
It looks like Gnome has a new system tray icon for VPN connections.
The Open Rights Group is working on an amendment to the OSA which would propose a small site exemption, for sites that are maintained without a view to profit, with a small number of active users, and which the owner reasonably believes to pose no risk to users.
If you want to give thoughts on various parts of the potential amendments, there's a form here:
https://cloud.openrightsgroup.org/nextcloud/apps/forms/s/dQB6GSRQ4jHzGjxiYG5tAnDB
I've stated this on the form, but the idea of "having to tell Ofcom" anything is a bit dangerous - sounds like every interactive website would have to register centrally just to exist! That's a significant further escalation from where we are now.
It should be passive, as with the current OSA - you do an assessment which can be made available on request (at least that's my understanding of it)
Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws | TechCrunch
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114759
#AgeVerification#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #mastodon #surveillance #vpn
Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws | TechCrunch
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114759
#AgeVerification#OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #mastodon #surveillance #vpn
Steam has done pretty reasonable and balanced decision in response to Online Safety Act: "account is age verified if the valid card is stored in the account"
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/292B-3DA3-CFC8-97F6
#Steam #OnlineSafetyAct#OSA #Gaming#Videogames #Surveillance #Privacy
Steam has done pretty reasonable and balanced decision in response to Online Safety Act: "account is age verified if the valid card is stored in the account"
https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/292B-3DA3-CFC8-97F6
#Steam #OnlineSafetyAct#OSA #Gaming#Videogames #Surveillance #Privacy
Hey folks! I am looking for a post that was in /explore around Jul 31 - a screenshot of someone explaining that BMW had shuttered its UK forums and moved to Facebook, because of the #OnlineSafetyAct. My search-fu is failing me. Anyone know the post I'm talking about (or have a link to a source giving details of the move)?
Thank you!
Hey folks! I am looking for a post that was in /explore around Jul 31 - a screenshot of someone explaining that BMW had shuttered its UK forums and moved to Facebook, because of the #OnlineSafetyAct. My search-fu is failing me. Anyone know the post I'm talking about (or have a link to a source giving details of the move)?
Thank you!
This week in #FDroid (TWIF) is happening:
* Hardware upgrades can't come quicker
* #Syncthing Lite is back
* #Taler hits one point zero
* #ShatteredPixel needs Android 5
* #WebLibreBrowser wraps #Gecko in #Flutter
* More stats panels
* #Debian Trixie is here!
* #Wikipedia fights #OnlineSafetyAct
* #Rethink hits some bugs
+ 12 new apps
& 160 more updates
- 8 apps archived
#ItsFriday Friday Friday: https://f-droid.org/2025/08/14/twif.html
The UK may be about to lose access to Wikipedia as they've lost their High Court Challenge to OSA.
You can download Wikipedia by installing the @kiwix app https://kiwix.org/en/applications/
Then use https://library.kiwix.org/ to find Wikipedia, or any other interesting book. It will download a file (Wikipedia is 110gb) that you can then open in the Kiwix browser
/cc @neil
In which I distill a lot of casual pub chats I've had with friends into a layperson's guide to the #OnlineSafetyAct. What it is, the problems it causes, and why you should definitely care.
https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/age-verification-whats-the-harm/
I wrote a post about Trust & Safety that I have been meaning to write for a while, but @caseynewton wrote something recently that reminded me.
It acts as a useful mission statement for the advocacy organisation I am slowly creating, which I have talked about in a few interviews, but not gotten around to yet - The problems with C-PTSD and AuDHD in concert mean that everything comes at a glacial start :)
https://superhighwayman.com/2025/the-ones-who-thrive-in-omelas/
#Writing #TrustAndSafety#Blog#Security#Infosec#Advocacy#SocialMedia#Online#Dating #OnlineSafetyAct#Moderation#Wellness#Health#PTSD#ADHD #AuDHD#Omelas#SciFi#UrsulaLeGuin
"Tim Je" made a website that uses AI to programmatically generate fake IDs of United Kingdom politicians.
You should never use something like this for UK Age Verification. That would be quite inappropriate ...
I wrote a post about Trust & Safety that I have been meaning to write for a while, but @caseynewton wrote something recently that reminded me.
It acts as a useful mission statement for the advocacy organisation I am slowly creating, which I have talked about in a few interviews, but not gotten around to yet - The problems with C-PTSD and AuDHD in concert mean that everything comes at a glacial start :)
https://superhighwayman.com/2025/the-ones-who-thrive-in-omelas/
#Writing #TrustAndSafety#Blog#Security#Infosec#Advocacy#SocialMedia#Online#Dating #OnlineSafetyAct#Moderation#Wellness#Health#PTSD#ADHD #AuDHD#Omelas#SciFi#UrsulaLeGuin
If you're a #FediAdmin I'd really recommend checking out this guide on the Online Safety Act by @iftas
https://about.iftas.org/2025/07/30/navigating-the-uk-online-safety-act/
#OnlineSafetyAct#OSA#Compliance#Moderation#Fediverse#Mastodon
In short, the problem with the Online Safety Act is that it is realistically unworkable for the average admin.
The problem with the regulations and this recommendation on your site is that the categories of prohibited content is extremely vague and could be selectively enforced based on the whims of the regulators.
For example, as a US citizen would the following statement be banned on UK systems?
"As a citizen of the USA I recommend everyone in the UK take to the streets and yell at their PM to allow speech about using picket knives for harvesting medical marijuana used for epilepsy treatment; medical treatment that should be available to all epilepsy patients."
That statement could fall under Foreign Interference, harassment, knives, and drugs, malinformation / misinformation.
Is my statement harmful to children through 16 year olds?
Age verification: what’s the harm? - https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/age-verification-whats-the-harm/ good discussion of a very bad and stupid law, particularly the point about existing parental controls #onlinesafetyact #vpn
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