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UK traffic to porn sites falls by a third after new age verification rules | FT | …but actually they’re using either VPN or far more dodgy websites
UK traffic to [PornHub] has fallen by 77 per cent since the new rules were introduced in the Online Safety Act, according to Alex Kekesi, head of community and brand at Aylo. … “We were honestly shocked,” Kekesi said in an interview. FT (archived) via: biometricupdate
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Age verification could soon land in Russia – putting already precarious internet freedoms on the line | TechRadar
I’m looking forward to a statement from either Ofcom or DSIT welcoming the protection of children in Russia: https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/age-verification-could-soon-land-in-russia-putting-already-precarious-internet-freedoms-on-the-line …the article is a good read, not least for pointing to what will likely next happen to VPNs in the West: Motivated by their concerns, people in the UK and the US have flocked to the best
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The House | Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales Warns Of “Political Showdown” With UK Government Over Online Safety Act
…applied to Wikipedia, a free online encyclopaedia that relies on collaborative editing … “[the OSA] makes no sense whatsoever,” says Wales. “If you and I are in a debate about the contents of an article, and we’ve both been editing it, and I decide to stop you from doing any further editing on the article,
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“UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship” | I’ve not heard Wikipedia complaining about this, but they will be impacted
The Molly Rose Foundation is obliquely critiquing a US-based suicide-discussion website – one which if you go looking *does* have a page on Wikipedia… so this is going to flush out the Wikipedia censorship question all over again, and it’s going to be right up there with the 4chan/Ofcom arguments over the 1st amendment, free
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Messageboard 4chan refuses to pay fine over ‘free speech’
The fine represents the first major test of the Online Safety Act’s reach. If 4chan continues to ignore Ofcom’s requests, the regulator could seek a court order to force UK internet service providers to block access to the site. A spokesperson for Ofcom said “sites that don’t comply and put people and children in the
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UK Expands Online Safety Act, Forcing Preemptive Censorship
Who would ever have expected? Britain’s push for online “safety” drifts into a realm of digital pre-crime, where algorithms decide guilt before anything gets seen. https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-online-safety-act-expands-preemptive-censorship-rules
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UK MPs demand Home Secretary call on Apple to make iPhone more resistant to data exfiltration, backdoors, hacking, and third-party repair…
“Oh, Wait, No, Not like that.” MPs urge UK government to stop phone theft wave through tech | The Register https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/25/uk_committee_phone_theft/
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Imagine that the UK Gov’t has the power to limit corporate due diligence checks to “do [you] have a Digital ID card?” ; DOING SO WILL VASTLY ENCOURAGE MOBILE PHONE THEFT
Think about it: if a person’s phone is the solitary credential through which they can live their life – both online and offline – then stealing somebody’s phone will suddenly become much more prevalent and popular. Utility bills and other hassle, reduce risk.
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Proponents of Digital ID clearly do not want people to understand that the whole point of authentication for certain transactions IS MEANT TO BE A COMPLETE PAIN IN THE ARSE; that’s literally how we as customers *BENEFIT*
The goal of getting people to jump through hoops is to gain assurance. The hoops must be substantial and challenging in order to work. By working, they reduce risk. Prime Minister Kier Starmer clearly does not have a deep understanding of the processes and goals of identification, authentication and assurance:
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EU watchdog attacks Britain over iPhone ‘backdoor’ demand
Given how little notice the EU commission have taken of the EDPB regarding Chat Control, I don’t have high hopes: In January, the Home Office demanded that Apple create a way to get around the end-to-end encryption in its iCloud storage system … European officials have stayed quiet on the matter, but on Monday, the
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Essential thread from Kay Jebelli re: Google/Meta dropping Political Advertising in the EU, aghast civil society groups demanding they “continue, and be regulated”
Discussing a post by Eliza Gkritsi, Kay describes at length the fact that platforms, facing vague but severely punitive regulation for [what they do] are increasingly heeding the old computing adage “don’t do that, then!” and shrugging off the burden. It’s a lesson highly relevant to Chat Control, Ofcom, and to UK Home Office TCNs
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