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“If Britain wants to censor foreign content, it can build a great firewall just like all the other tin pot dictatorships” | The Online Safety Act as seen from the USA…
Yesterday I spoke with an American friend re: perspectives on the Online Safety Act as seen from the USA. Broadly I agree, although I think extraterritoriality is a much greater unresolved issue than described. An extract: Them: Generally speaking, I think that the probability that a number of people who work for Ofcom will face
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Baroness Kidron mocks Britons for using VPNs rather than being “transparent” about their porn-viewing habits
Baroness Beeban doesn’t believe it is children using VPNs to bypass age verification. “I’ve actually found it extraordinary that the assumption is that all of the VPN surge is children. Think about it carefully. “A lot of it will be adults who are actually trying to hide their own behaviour now that you actually have
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We must fight age verification with all we have | Taylor Lorenz
Today, I’m excited to present a guest post by Cynthia Conti-Cook, Rebecca Williams, and Pratika Katiya. These three women are doing incredible work fighting back against the surveillance state. https://www.usermag.co/p/we-must-fight-age-verification-with
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Canadian “privacy is bad” activists are trying to undermine @torproject by posting an extended propaganda rant in The Guardian, a newspaper which maintains its own dark web address
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/25/tor-network-child-sexual-abuse If you would like to read this article using the official Guardian dark web version of the Guardian website, you can use: https://www.guardian2zotagl6tmjucg3lrhxdk4dw3lhbqnkvvkywawy3oqfoprid.onion/technology/2025/aug/25/tor-network-child-sexual-abuse Also: if they think that the dark web helps bad sites flourish, wait until they find out about the internet. Via:
censorship end to end encryption online safety online safety act privacy surveillance tor project VPNFediverse reactions
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Deal to get ChatGPT Plus for whole of UK discussed by Open AI boss and minister | The Guardian | …they have to justify the Digital ID Card idea somehow
Those close to the discussion say Kyle never really took the idea seriously, not least because it could have cost as much as £2bn. But the talks show the enthusiasm with which the technology secretary has embraced the artificial intelligence sector, despite concerns over the accuracy of some chatbot responses and implications for privacy and
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“Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users” | Bluesky blocks Mississippi
I’m not in favour of “proactive shunning” but when a platform’s entire service for their entire user base is put at risk by government demands for identity or age verification… switch it off: While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm
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Ofcom is turning the UK into an international laughing stock | CapX
[Ofcom’s comments] portray the UK in a more sinister light … the country where we live comes across as as a would-be bully, that thinks nothing of ordering foreigners around in their own country … a country that wishes to place all sorts of restrictions on internet speech, and at times to set up a
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4chan will refuse to pay daily UK fines, its lawyer tells BBC | BBC News
4Chan has a… mixed reputation, but this is a lesson that both Ofcom & UK legislators need to learn: in a global environment some jurisdictions exist beyond the bounds of parliamentary control: “Ofcom’s notices create no legal obligations in the United States,” he told the BBC, adding he believed the regulator’s investigation was part of
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EFF: UK Online Safety Act is about censorship, not safety | The Register
The UK’s scramble to find an effective age verification method underscores that there isn’t one, and it’s high time for politicians around the world to take that seriously – especially those pondering similar laws in the US Rather than weakening rights for already vulnerable communities online, governments everywhere must acknowledge these shortcomings and explore less
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Bloomberg: “Tulsi Gabbard’s ‘Win’ for Apple Isn’t That Simple” | Parmy Olson
The Home Office will likely drop its order under US pressure, but we won’t know for sure until Apple uses its next appearance before a judge to say its case is invalid. That would be an unfortunate outcome for a fight that should have played out publicly in court, and could have put an end to
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