> The government has also told the BBC it would be illegal for platforms to [host, share or permit content that encourages use of VPNs to get around age checks.]
I wonder what offence(s) who said this had in mind?
Discussion
Loading...
@neil This is another part I think we will see a early court challenge too, likely by vpn providers if Ofcom starts doing that. Because it means sites removing ads and Youtube removing sponsorships.
If Ofcom end up telling sites to remove any talk of VPNs for everyone that clearly violates Article 10 of ECHR and not even apart of the law.
@neil but if I’m a category 1 provider, I have a duty to protect the sharing of journalistic content published by an established news provider on a matter of democratic importance like… a BBC News article that does not explicitly encourage the use of any mechanism to avoid age checks but discusses how many people are now finding workarounds in the context of the debate the law is prompting.
Every website owner should be able to balance those extremely clear obligations.
@neil @lisamelton Also relevant, the bbcSoundsApp has been officially prevented from working outside of the UK, thanks to the music industry, so VPN use might be increasing for that as well. #vpn #bbc #bbcRadio6#Radio6#soundsApp
@neil
i'm sorry for experience our bureaucrauts share out around the globe :(
@neil
"VPNs (especially Mullvad) allow citizens to circumvent ID checks, and we cannot under any circumstances recommend that anyone visit mullvad.net and certainly not create an account there."
@neil The BBC article is great promotion for VPNs against age checks. No need for platforms to do it themselves.😀
@neil I imagine they must have a broader notion of illegality in mind - eg something that could culminate in the platform facing Ofcom penalties.
@neil Great to see BBC chosing to recommend Proton VPN since that is the only free VPN I know that doesn't try to exploit someone's privacy etc. It's all us the paying users that pay for the free tier too.
@neil Would it not be illegal for such a platform to specifically tell UK visitors *not* to use a VPN to get round their age verification/geoblock?
@neil Amusing news considering that the dissemination of information about VPNs has also been banned in Russia as of March 1, 2024.
@neil It seems reasonable on its face that a platform required to perform an effective age check would also be required to not make that check ineffective - would it not?
Basically that feels like a part of the existing rules?
@neil If so, Discord and Reddit are set to have a lot of work on their hands.
@neil it's so, so hard to defend the BBC when they publish tripe like that. Who said it? Why are we giving anonymity to government sources? They work for us. Which named minister or spokesperson said that?
@neil This is a circular argument, surely? Sites that host legal content which falls under the scope of the #OnlineSafetyAct and which use geoblocking are tacitly encouraging use of VPNs to get around age checks and the content is therefore illegal.
@neil Indeed, I wonder what offence? I mean my block mentions VPNs in passing but explains other ways to get around age checks that are not VPNs - so is that illegal as well or is it only if saying VPNs?
@revk @neil There's illegal, and there's Illegal.
Fun fact, torproject.org was blocked on virgin media (with child filter turned on), and several VPN provider websites are also blocked, last time I checked. Probably same on other ISPs.
The issue isn't tech, this is political; it's creating a precedent that says it's OK for the government to decide what you should read and shouldn't read.
I already wrote to my MP asking her to campaign to have the Act repealed, and I got the usual run-around.
bonfire.cafe
A space for Bonfire maintainers and contributors to communicate
Automatic federation enabled