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#onlinesafety

14 posts9 participants0 posts today

The UK Online Safety Act comes into effect today.

Its onerous duties may cause many small sites, blogs and fedi instances to shut down or geoblock UK users when faced with potential fines and penalties.

This won't keep children safe. It'll benefit large platforms like Facebook and X that are laying waste to content moderation.

theregister.com/2025/01/14/onl

The Register · It's not just Big Tech: The UK's Online Safety Act applies across the boardBy Lindsay Clark
Continued thread

When it comes to blogs, Ofcom says one thing, the UK Online Safety Act says another.

This lack of clarity over whether blogs with comments are exempt will push small sites to shut down completely.

We need the UK government to tighten up the definitions and exemptions in the Act.

Read our explainer for more detail ➡️ openrightsgroup.org/blog/save-

Open Rights GroupSave our Sites: Deadline 17 MarchIncredible as it may seem, thanks to the Online Safety Act, dozens of harmless, safe, small websites are closing down by 17 March, rather than face threats of fines that could lose their operators their homes.
Continued thread

Under the UK Online Safety Act, small blogs, forums and fedi instances are faced with disproportionate requirements to:

⚫️ Check if they have UK users

⚫️ Do a risk assessment on whether kids might access the content, or if CSAM or terrorist material might be posted in the comments

⚫️ Put themselves at the risk of fines, and even prison sentences, if they fail to comply with Ofcom’s future directives

#SaveOurSites 🌐

Protect Net Plurality! 🦾

Broad brush duties under the UK Online Safety Act threaten any website with possible penalties.

Small, safe sites can't shoulder this burden. We'll see the lights going out on blogs, Fedi instances and forums from 17 March with a devastating impact for online communities.

The Fediverse is under attack!

We must #SaveOurSites 🌐

openrightsgroup.org/blog/save-

Open Rights GroupSave our Sites: Deadline 17 MarchIncredible as it may seem, thanks to the Online Safety Act, dozens of harmless, safe, small websites are closing down by 17 March, rather than face threats of fines that could lose their operators their homes.