Musing on various posts, blog posts, and news reports about the #OnlineSafetyAct recently.
* it is incorrect that "no-one was talking about this until this month". Some of us - not many, for sure, but still - have been working on this for quite some time, and trying to help people get to grips with it.
* it is unhelpful to blame people for not knowing about it until recently. People have busy lives, and there is a lot going on right now. People had no reason to think that they might need to check for a significant new regulatory imposition on their tiny server.
* no, it is not just about porn. Porn might be behind recent publicity, but porn is one facet of the Act.
* it is not all Ofcom's fault. Parliament carries a lot of responsibility here, and fixes entail changing the law.
> 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?
When I stopped using Twitter, *ages* ago, even though I was already part of an amazing community - you weird lot - I had wondered how much I would miss Twitter.
Not at all, it turns out.
I appreciate that that is not the case for everyone, and some use multiple social networks, but, for me, the fediverse, and its users, form a wonderful, delightful place to spend time, chat, and toot poor puns.
I haven't loaded a Twitter or X URL in goodness knows how long now. For a tool I used *loads*, its complete absence from my life is (to me) quite remarkable.
I know that it is a luxury, but wow do I like my electric bike.
Every time I ride it, I have such a smile on my face.
Plus, it makes me even more inclined to cycle rather than drive.
I am sure that we will see plenty of people demostrating how ineffective many online age assurance tools are.
I am also pretty darned sure that this will not result in an acceptance that the approach is flawed, but rather in a push for more stringent, intrusive techniques and technology.
The "Repeal the Online Safety Act" petition is at just under 95,000 signatures.
I don't think it will happen (or that that would be the right outcome, although change is vital to exclude low risk sites), but this is still more signatures than I had anticipated.
Today - 25 July - is the deadline for user-to-user services subject to the UK's Online Safety Act to have "highly effective age assurance" in place for UK users, if the site's content requires it. (Not all sites/content require age assurance.)
*Please* be careful, especially if you are in the UK.
Think before handing over ID documents, and be especially mindful of mistyped URLs and other scams, trying to obtain your personal data for phishing or blackmail purposes.
#OnlineSafetyAct
