European Online Safety Act: Difference between revisions

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==Overview==

The UK Online Safety Act 2023 is an act passed by the United Kingdom ~~Parliament that gives~~ the government of the ~~United Kingdom~~ to suppress and record online content that the ~~United Kingdom~~ government deems harmful to children. The UK government ~~cite~~ states that as of March 2025, platforms are ~~now~~ required to use age ~~assuring~~ technology to prevent underage users from being exposed to adult content such as pornography, hateful content, or content which encourages suicide, self harm, or eating disorders<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-24 |title=Online Safety Act |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/online-safety-act |url-status=live |website=gov.uk}}</ref>. ~~In practice~~ the act is likely to affect both children and adults.

The United Kingdom's Online Safety Act 2023 is an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (UK). The act provides the government with the ability to both suppress and/or record online content that the UK government deems harmful to children. The UK government states that as of March 2025, platforms are required to use age verification technology to prevent underage users from being exposed to adult content such as pornography, hateful content, or content which encourages suicide, self harm, or eating disorders<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-24 |title=Online Safety Act |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/online-safety-act |url-status=live |website=gov.uk}}</ref>. There have been criticisms that the act is likely to affect both children and adults in a negative manner, particularly the outsourcing of age verification to third-party services, such as private corporations, which require either biometric scans or uploads of official government issued ID's. Confidentiality is not guaranteed in these third-party services' TOS, alongside this, malicious sites may easily be created to collect such information under the guise of 'age-verification', with users less likely to protect their private information as they become more comfortable with the notion of submitting it to many different websites and services.

(This is re-edition of the contents displayed in [https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ fightchatcontrol.eu])

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===1. <u>UK Online Safety Act (OSA)</u>===

See [[Implementation of the UK Online Safety Act]].

*'''Age Verification Enforcement:''' The OSA Requires online platforms to require age verification for users attempting to access specific types of content. Frequently, the verification process is outsourced to third-party companies. These companies may request sensitive personal and biometric information—including facial scans, identity documents, and financial data.

*'''Privacy Risks:''' The absence of a public registry or certification standard for age verification providers means there is significant potential for misuse or mishandling of user data. Many providers operate overseas with limited regulation and weak data protection practices, creating major privacy vulnerabilities.

*'''Impact on Users:''' U.K Citizens have had to provide private details where they previously didn't to use social media platforms or dating apps.

*'''Surveillance and Content Moderation:''' The OSA expands monitoring of users of various social media platforms, requiring platforms to scan encrypted messages for illegal content. ~~these~~ requirements could technically compromise privacy and security.

*'''Surveillance and Content Moderation:''' The OSA expands monitoring of users of various social media platforms, requiring platforms to scan encrypted messages for illegal content. These requirements could technically compromise privacy and security.

*'''Free Expression:''' Stringent moderation and age-gating may restrict information access for all users (including adults who refuse to submit sensitive data). These measures risk self-censorship and suppressing open debate, even affecting democratic participation when the act obliges "democratically important" content to not be removed.

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*'''Practical Examples:''' Actual cases, such as the prosecution of Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen, show how national regulations can be invoked to suppress legitimate political or religious speech across borders.

==~~Why it is a problem~~==

==Pointed criticisms of the Act==

====Mass Surveillance====

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===Free Speech and Internet Values===

By restricting anonymous communication, the Act undermines foundational principles of the internet: free speech, open debate, and the right to dissent without fear of retaliation <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. Ambiguous definitions of “harmful” content, coupled with automated scanning systems, risk fostering over-censorship and generating false accusations that can silence legitimate expression and political activism <ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Fight Chat Control |url=https://fightchatcontrol.eu/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship |url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/}}</ref>. The move toward large-scale surveillance not only ~~threatens~~ civil liberties within Europe ~~but also~~ sets a troubling global precedent, with EU and UK regulations potentially inspiring authoritarian regimes to adopt similar measures that curtail free speech worldwide <ref name=":4" />.

The point of contention is that through restricting anonymous communication, the Act undermines foundational principles of the internet: free speech, open debate, and the right to dissent without fear of retaliation <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. Ambiguous definitions of “harmful” content, coupled with automated scanning systems, risk fostering over-censorship and generating false accusations that can silence legitimate expression and political activism <ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Fight Chat Control |url=https://fightchatcontrol.eu/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship |url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/}}</ref>. The move toward large-scale surveillance not only could threaten civil liberties within Europe and sets a troubling global precedent, with EU and UK regulations potentially inspiring authoritarian regimes to adopt similar measures that curtail free speech worldwide <ref name=":4" />.

==Useful sites==

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 ==Overview==
-The UK Online Safety Act 2023 is an act passed by the United Kingdom Parliament that gives the government of the United Kingdom to suppress and record online content that the United Kingdom government deems harmful to children. The UK government cite states that as of March 2025, platforms are now required to use age assuring technology to prevent underage users from being exposed to adult content such as pornography, hateful content, or content which encourages suicide, self harm, or eating disorders<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-24 |title=Online Safety Act |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/online-safety-act |url-status=live |website=gov.uk}}</ref>. In practice the act is likely to affect both children and adults.
+The United Kingdom's Online Safety Act 2023 is an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom (UK). The act provides the government with the ability to both suppress and/or record online content that the UK government deems harmful to children. The UK government states that as of March 2025, platforms are required to use age verification technology to prevent underage users from being exposed to adult content such as pornography, hateful content, or content which encourages suicide, self harm, or eating disorders<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-07-24 |title=Online Safety Act |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/online-safety-act |url-status=live |website=gov.uk}}</ref>. There have been criticisms that the act is likely to affect both children and adults in a negative manner, particularly the outsourcing of age verification to third-party services, such as private corporations, which require either biometric scans or uploads of official government issued ID's. Confidentiality is not guaranteed in these third-party services' TOS, alongside this, malicious sites may easily be created to collect such information under the guise of 'age-verification', with users less likely to protect their private information as they become more comfortable with the notion of submitting it to many different websites and services.
   (This is re-edition of the contents displayed in [https://fightchatcontrol.eu/ fightchatcontrol.eu])
@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ===1. <u>UK Online Safety Act (OSA)</u>===
+See [[Implementation of the UK Online Safety Act]].
 *'''Age Verification Enforcement:''' The OSA Requires online platforms to require age verification for users attempting to access specific types of content. Frequently, the verification process is outsourced to third-party companies. These companies may request sensitive personal and biometric information—including facial scans, identity documents, and financial data.
 *'''Privacy Risks:''' The absence of a public registry or certification standard for age verification providers means there is significant potential for misuse or mishandling of user data. Many providers operate overseas with limited regulation and weak data protection practices, creating major privacy vulnerabilities.
 *'''Impact on Users:''' U.K Citizens have had to provide private details where they previously didn't to use social media platforms or dating apps.
-*'''Surveillance and Content Moderation:''' The OSA expands monitoring of users of various social media platforms, requiring platforms to scan encrypted messages for illegal content. these requirements could technically compromise privacy and security.
+*'''Surveillance and Content Moderation:''' The OSA expands monitoring of users of various social media platforms, requiring platforms to scan encrypted messages for illegal content. These requirements could technically compromise privacy and security.
 *'''Free Expression:''' Stringent moderation and age-gating may restrict information access for all users (including adults who refuse to submit sensitive data). These measures risk self-censorship and suppressing open debate, even affecting democratic participation when the act obliges "democratically important" content to not be removed.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 *'''Practical Examples:''' Actual cases, such as the prosecution of Finnish parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen, show how national regulations can be invoked to suppress legitimate political or religious speech across borders.
-==Why it is a problem==
+==Pointed criticisms of the Act==
 ====Mass Surveillance====
@@ Line 83: / Line 83: @@
 ===Free Speech and Internet Values===
-By restricting anonymous communication, the Act undermines foundational principles of the internet: free speech, open debate, and the right to dissent without fear of retaliation <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. Ambiguous definitions of “harmful” content, coupled with automated scanning systems, risk fostering over-censorship and generating false accusations that can silence legitimate expression and political activism <ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Fight Chat Control |url=https://fightchatcontrol.eu/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship |url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/}}</ref>. The move toward large-scale surveillance not only threatens civil liberties within Europe but also sets a troubling global precedent, with EU and UK regulations potentially inspiring authoritarian regimes to adopt similar measures that curtail free speech worldwide <ref name=":4" />.
+The point of contention is that through restricting anonymous communication, the Act undermines foundational principles of the internet: free speech, open debate, and the right to dissent without fear of retaliation <ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />. Ambiguous definitions of “harmful” content, coupled with automated scanning systems, risk fostering over-censorship and generating false accusations that can silence legitimate expression and political activism <ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Fight Chat Control |url=https://fightchatcontrol.eu/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Online Safety Act Has Nothing to Do With Child Safety and Everything to Do With Censorship |url=https://novaramedia.com/2025/08/07/the-online-safety-act-has-nothing-to-do-with-child-safety-and-everything-to-do-with-censorship/}}</ref>. The move toward large-scale surveillance not only could threaten civil liberties within Europe and sets a troubling global precedent, with EU and UK regulations potentially inspiring authoritarian regimes to adopt similar measures that curtail free speech worldwide <ref name=":4" />.
 ==Useful sites==