#onlinesafetyact — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #onlinesafetyact, aggregated by home.social.
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HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS? https://alecmuffett.com/article/159582 #JessPhillips #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship #newsnight #surveillance
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING Y... -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS? https://alecmuffett.com/article/159582 #JessPhillips #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship #newsnight #surveillance
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING Y... -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS? https://alecmuffett.com/article/159582 #JessPhillips #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship #newsnight #surveillance
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING Y... -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS? https://alecmuffett.com/article/159582 #JessPhillips #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship #newsnight #surveillance
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING Y... -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS? https://alecmuffett.com/article/159582 #JessPhillips #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship #newsnight #surveillance
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING Y... -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS?
If you’re worried that your kid might get a hold of a phone without your permission, as a parent you already have a problem with both authority and credibility which a government ban will not address.
https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/2059394623173280207?s=20
#censorship #JessPhillips #newsnight #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #surveillance -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS?
If you’re worried that your kid might get a hold of a phone without your permission, as a parent you already have a problem with both authority and credibility which a government ban will not address.
https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/2059394623173280207?s=20
#censorship #JessPhillips #newsnight #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #surveillance -
HOW ABOUT SIMPLY NOT HANDING YOUR CHILD A SMARTPHONE, JESS?
If you’re worried that your kid might get a hold of a phone without your permission, as a parent you already have a problem with both authority and credibility which a government ban will not address.
https://twitter.com/BBCNewsnight/status/2059394623173280207?s=20
#censorship #JessPhillips #newsnight #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan #surveillance -
How Often Do Consumers Balk at Doing Online Age Authentication? | Technology & Marketing Law Blog https://alecmuffett.com/article/159486 #AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance
How Often Do Consumers Balk at... -
Social media ‘is vital’, say Welsh teens arguing against a ban | BBC News https://alecmuffett.com/article/159481 #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan #censorship
Social media ‘is vital’, say W... -
Westminster Recycles Tobacco-Style Panic Campaign For Internet Crackdown
Read, especially if you are willing to consider that perhaps civil society is to blame for where we are today.
https://reclaimthenet.org/westminster-recycles-tobacco-style-panic-campaign-for-internet-crackdown
#onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan -
How Often Do Consumers Balk at Doing Online Age Authentication? | Technology & Marketing Law Blog
#ageVerification #censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #surveillanceIn search engine parlance, the “bounce” rate is the percent of searchers who click on a search results link and then immediately hit the back button … I’m going to analogize bounce rates to the rate that consumers fail to overcome age authentication walls, which I’ll call the “balk rate.” …
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Social media ‘is vital’, say Welsh teens arguing against a ban | BBC News
‘We need social media to survive’ – teens oppose ban
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74dwyqz3x7o
#censorship #onlineSafety #onlineSafetyAct #socialMediaBan -
Mozilla warned the UK against targeting VPNs to enforce Online Safety Act age checks, calling them essential privacy and security infrastructure. 🔐
The Firefox maker said age-gating VPNs would expand surveillance while failing to address weak verification systems and platform design issues. 🌐#TechNews #Mozilla #Firefox #VPN #Privacy #OnlineSafetyAct #Firefox #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Encryption #Security #OpenWeb #UK #DataPrivacy #AgeVerification
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Mozilla warned the UK against targeting VPNs to enforce Online Safety Act age checks, calling them essential privacy and security infrastructure. 🔐
The Firefox maker said age-gating VPNs would expand surveillance while failing to address weak verification systems and platform design issues. 🌐#TechNews #Mozilla #Firefox #VPN #Privacy #OnlineSafetyAct #Firefox #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Encryption #Security #OpenWeb #UK #DataPrivacy #AgeVerification
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Mozilla warned the UK against targeting VPNs to enforce Online Safety Act age checks, calling them essential privacy and security infrastructure. 🔐
The Firefox maker said age-gating VPNs would expand surveillance while failing to address weak verification systems and platform design issues. 🌐#TechNews #Mozilla #Firefox #VPN #Privacy #OnlineSafetyAct #Firefox #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Encryption #Security #OpenWeb #UK #DataPrivacy #AgeVerification
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Mozilla warned the UK against targeting VPNs to enforce Online Safety Act age checks, calling them essential privacy and security infrastructure. 🔐
The Firefox maker said age-gating VPNs would expand surveillance while failing to address weak verification systems and platform design issues. 🌐#TechNews #Mozilla #Firefox #VPN #Privacy #OnlineSafetyAct #Firefox #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Encryption #Security #OpenWeb #UK #DataPrivacy #AgeVerification
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Mozilla warned the UK against targeting VPNs to enforce Online Safety Act age checks, calling them essential privacy and security infrastructure. 🔐
The Firefox maker said age-gating VPNs would expand surveillance while failing to address weak verification systems and platform design issues. 🌐#TechNews #Mozilla #Firefox #VPN #Privacy #OnlineSafetyAct #Firefox #DigitalRights #Cybersecurity #Surveillance #Encryption #Security #OpenWeb #UK #DataPrivacy #AgeVerification
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CW: EU politics & surveillance
The EU Commission are constructing a 4 lane highway to hell with their good intentions.
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116561792802802294
#EU #OnlineSafetyAct #surveillance #capitalism #algorithms #mentalhealth #children #kneejerk #unintendedconsequences #profit
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CW: EU politics & surveillance
The EU Commission are constructing a 4 lane highway to hell with their good intentions.
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116561792802802294
#EU #OnlineSafetyAct #surveillance #capitalism #algorithms #mentalhealth #children #kneejerk #unintendedconsequences #profit
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CW: EU politics & surveillance
The EU Commission are constructing a 4 lane highway to hell with their good intentions.
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116561792802802294
#EU #OnlineSafetyAct #surveillance #capitalism #algorithms #mentalhealth #children #kneejerk #unintendedconsequences #profit
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CW: EU politics & surveillance
The EU Commission are constructing a 4 lane highway to hell with their good intentions.
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116561792802802294
#EU #OnlineSafetyAct #surveillance #capitalism #algorithms #mentalhealth #children #kneejerk #unintendedconsequences #profit
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CW: EU politics & surveillance
The EU Commission are constructing a 4 lane highway to hell with their good intentions.
https://ec.social-network.europa.eu/@EUCommission/116561792802802294
#EU #OnlineSafetyAct #surveillance #capitalism #algorithms #mentalhealth #children #kneejerk #unintendedconsequences #profit
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Ofcom's recommendation is limited to:
1) Providers of user-to-user services that are high risk for intimate image abuse and either:
a) whose principal purpose is the hosting or dissemination of regulated pornographic content; or
b) are file-sharing and file-storage services; or
c) have more than 700,000 monthly active UK users.2) Providers of large (more than 7 million monthly active UK users) user-to-user services that are medium risk for intimate image abuse
3) Providers of large general search services.
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Quite big (albeit entirely expected) #OnlineSafetyAct news from Ofcom for a Monday morning:
> Given the urgent need to better protect women and girls online, we are now adding a recommendation to our codes that certain sites and apps expand their use of automated technology – known as ‘hash matching’– to detect illegal intimate images shared without consent, such as explicit deepfakes.
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" we need to consider whether additional measures could build on our existing approach and ensure the UK remains the safest place for children to be online.
[...]
What happens nextThis consultation will close on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026. "
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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" we need to consider whether additional measures could build on our existing approach and ensure the UK remains the safest place for children to be online.
[...]
What happens nextThis consultation will close on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026. "
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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" we need to consider whether additional measures could build on our existing approach and ensure the UK remains the safest place for children to be online.
[...]
What happens nextThis consultation will close on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026. "
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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" we need to consider whether additional measures could build on our existing approach and ensure the UK remains the safest place for children to be online.
[...]
What happens nextThis consultation will close on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026. "
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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" we need to consider whether additional measures could build on our existing approach and ensure the UK remains the safest place for children to be online.
[...]
What happens nextThis consultation will close on the 26 May 2026. The government has committed to taking swift action on its findings. On 16 February 2026, the Prime Minister announced new legal powers to allow the government to act swiftly after the consultation response, without waiting for new primary legislation. We will publish our response in summer 2026. "
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation
#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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@ people with kids, wards, young people, duty of care, friends of, family of, neighbours of, and whatever else:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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@ people with kids, wards, young people, duty of care, friends of, family of, neighbours of, and whatever else:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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@ people with kids, wards, young people, duty of care, friends of, family of, neighbours of, and whatever else:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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@ people with kids, wards, young people, duty of care, friends of, family of, neighbours of, and whatever else:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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@ people with kids, wards, young people, duty of care, friends of, family of, neighbours of, and whatever else:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation#UK #UnitedKingdom #OnlineSafetyAct #SnoopersCharter #OnlineSafety #internet #DigitalID #Age #AgeVerification
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Does this remind you of anything? #onlinesafetyact #socialmediaban
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Does this remind you of anything? #onlinesafetyact #socialmediaban
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Does this remind you of anything? #onlinesafetyact #socialmediaban
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Does this remind you of anything? #onlinesafetyact #socialmediaban
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Does this remind you of anything? #onlinesafetyact #socialmediaban
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SWANSEA: ‘Technology has transformed childhood in ways we’re only beginning to understand’ — packed public meeting hears parents’ fears about social media and their kids
It is the issue that has filled Torsten Bell’s postbag more than any other this year — and when he opened up a public meeting on children’s social media use in Swansea this week, it was standing room only.
Parents spoke of children glued to screens for hours on end. Teachers described what they see on the frontline every day. Charity leaders raised the mounting evidence on mental health. And beneath it all ran a question that nobody has yet managed to answer satisfactorily: if the government bans under-16s from social media, can it actually be enforced?
The meeting, held on Thursday 14 May, was organised by the Swansea West MP to feed local voices into the UK Government’s Online Safety Act consultation on protecting children online — including proposals to restrict social media use for under-16s. Bell had called the meeting in April after his office was inundated with correspondence from constituents worried about the issue.
The consultation — launched by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology — is examining a range of potential measures. These include requiring social media platforms to do far more to verify the ages of users, potential restrictions on under-16s accessing platforms entirely, and tougher rules on how AI chatbots and gaming platforms interact with children.
Residents at Thursday’s meeting heard first from a panel of expert speakers — researchers, campaigners and people who deal with the consequences of children’s social media use in their work every day.
The data presented at the meeting made for uncomfortable reading. According to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales and Ofcom, one in five children in Wales spends more than seven hours a day on a screen — and most children aged between three and five already have their own social media profile.
A slide presented at the meeting showing that one in five children in Wales spend more than seven hours a day on a screen, and that most children aged three to five already have their own social media profile. (Image: Torsten Bell MP)The audience then shared their own experiences, and the room was not of one mind. There were parents who want action now, convinced that social media is damaging their children’s wellbeing and mental health. There were others who questioned whether an age limit could be meaningfully policed — and whether it might drive young people further underground online rather than protecting them.
Bell said the quality of the debate had struck him. “This public debate showed just how deeply people in Swansea care about this issue,” he said. “Parents, teachers and young people themselves all recognise that technology has transformed childhood in ways we are only beginning to understand.”
He added that the issue felt personal as well as political. “Many of us do already know how much we’d have missed out on as a teenager if the time and attention sink of social media had got in the way,” he said.
The concerns raised in Swansea are not new — and not unique to the city. A Bridgend school warned last year that pupils could face expulsion over abusive TikTok posts. Research published on Safer Internet Day found that half of parents had never spoken to their children about harmful online content. And more than 60 Labour MPs have now backed calls for a ban — among them local MPs Tonia Antoniazzi and Henry Tufnell.
The political pressure on the government to act is growing. Australia introduced a full ban on social media for under-16s last year, becoming the first country in the world to do so, and the move sparked intense debate in Westminster about whether the UK should follow suit.
But critics of an outright ban — including some who spoke at Thursday’s meeting — argue that determined teenagers will simply find workarounds, and that the real answer lies in better platform regulation and education rather than blanket restrictions that may prove unenforceable.
The panel invites questions from the floor during Torsten Bell MP’s public meeting on children’s social media use at Swansea’s Guildhall. (Image: Torsten Bell MP)What is not in dispute is the scale of the problem. The Llanelli MP’s office has described parents being shocked to discover their children had secret online identities — building up lives in apps their parents had never heard of, talking to strangers, and consuming content far removed from what they had been allowed to access at home.
Bell urged everyone who could not make Thursday’s meeting to respond to the consultation directly before the deadline. “The experiences and differing views everyone shared will be fed directly into the Government’s consultation,” he said.
“For anyone that couldn’t make it along, there is still time to have your voice heard — please do fill in the survey on my website and ensure the UK Government has heard your views before decisions about further action are taken,” he added.
The consultation closes on 26 May. Responses can be submitted via Torsten Bell’s website at torsten-bell.com.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
SWANSEA: MP calls emergency public meeting on social media ban for under-16s
Why Torsten Bell called the meeting — and why the issue tops his postbag.Bridgend school warns pupils could face expulsion over abusive TikTok posts
The real-world consequences of children’s social media use in our schools.Tonia Antoniazzi and Henry Tufnell among 60 Labour MPs to back social media ban for under-16s
#OnlineSafetyAct #socialMedia #socialMediaBan #TorstenBell #under16SocialMediaBan
The growing political pressure on the government to act. -
"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.
This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."
https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform
#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy
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"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.
This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."
https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform
#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy
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"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.
This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."
https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform
#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy
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"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.
This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."
https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform
#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy