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I don’t wanna rain on the parade but it’s entirely possible that the UK Government vs: APPLE iCloud BACKDOOR STORY IS STILL A THING
Reuters phrases it this way: Britain has dropped its demand for the iPhone maker Apple to provide a “backdoor” that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens …which does not say anything about not-backdooring British citizens. We should watch carefully whether Apple resurrects ADP in the UK.
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Pinsent Masons: “Ofcom’s online safety work will be funded by the service providers it regulates. Fees will be calculated based on each provider’s ‘qualifying worldwide revenue’ (QWR)”
This was the vision of the OSA: a grift to tax big tech in general and surveil everybody and everything. Companies with QWR above a particular threshold to be set by the Secretary of State will have a duty to pay fees under the regime. Ofcom has recommended that this threshold should be at or
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A short explanation for Home Office Minister Jess Phillips re: why attempts to restrict kids to using “teenager” phones will be doomed to failure
~14 years ago a friend – a highly respected & credentialed security consultant – shared that he’d set up all manner of content filtering & parental blocks on his home network, for the safety of his then ~14yo son. So the kid went to the local High Street and spent ~£20 of pocket money on
age verification censorship home office Jess Phillips online safety online safety act surveillance vawgFediverse reactions
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Welcome to the Molly Rose Foundation, where you are only permitted to say *negative* things about algorithmically-curated feed content, but never *positive* things
That’s it. This is not a joke. You’re not allowed to say “more of this please” in case you ask for more of something bad. You are not to be trusted. https://mollyrosefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/proof3_PervasivebyDesign.pdf
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The possibilities that would be raised by a coordinated prompt injection civil society campaign, are limitless…
MP spotted using ChatGPT to respond to constituents on the train | The Mirror The source said: “He was copying the entire constituent email into ChatGPT, and then asking ChatGPT to respond. I couldn’t believe it. ChatGPT to reply to constituents. How lazy is that? You can see ChatGPT giving a response starting with ‘Thank
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UK backs down in Apple privacy row, US says | BBC News
Somehow I can’t imagine the British government wanting any kind of legal precedent to be set in this matter. Apple responded by withdrawing ADP from the UK market, and started a legal process to challenge the order. This was due to be heard at a tribunal in early 2026. It is not yet clear whether
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Just in case it wasn’t obvious the first time around: applying age verification to VPNs to stop children using them, will stop EVERYONE using them & thereby cause unpopular chaos, @peterkyle @ChildrensComm
PCMag: A government commissioner calls for age verification for VPNs, citing the risk of children using them to bypass the UK’s Online Safety Act for easy access to adult content.
age verification censorship online safety online safety act Peter Kyle Rachel de Souza surveillance VPNFediverse reactions
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British Online Safety is an irregular verb | Conjugate the verb after me… | Chris Stokel-Walker on Bluesky
Big “My child found the hidden store of sweets in the cupboard so let’s blame kitchen manufacturers” energy. https://bsky.app/profile/stokel.bsky.social/post/3lwqq52zjtk2k
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OpenRightsGroup on TikTok: “These Are My Private Parts, Protect Your Digital Bits!”
This sound will become a classic for privacy and security people:
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Britain’s online safety law is running amok | The Washington Post
Toby Young speaks to the USA: Ironically, our best hope might be the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance has expressed misgivings about the erosion of free speech in Britain, lately his vacation destination. Let’s hope Starmer is listening, not least because any expansion of Ofcom’s powers enabling it to fine U.S. tech companies for
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Charlie Hebdo covers the Online Safety Act | …there is a paywall but this is above the fold, via translation:
Internet Censorship: “The instrumentalization of children’s rights has always served interests that go beyond the simple protection of minors.” https://charliehebdo.fr/2025/08/societe/tech/censure-dinternet-linstrumentalisation-du-droit-des-enfants-a-toujours-servi-des-interets-qui-depassaient-la-simple-protection-des-mineurs/ To be found in edition 1725 of August 13, 2025Published on August 13, 2025 at 3:45 p.m.Modified on August 13, 2025 at 3:45 p.m. In the United Kingdom, the debate is raging following the introduction
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Please: at what point does it cease to be “stumbling across porn” for a teen (or indeed anyone) to install & enable a VPN and type “PORN” into a search query or URL?
The threat model which drove the online safety act was quite clear, and some of the minds behind it have already declared victory – so why is anyone trying to extend it further? Perhaps the regulator can explain at what point “parenting” is meant to come back into play?
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