European Online Safety Act: Difference between revisions

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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.

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

==How it works==

*'''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.

*'''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.

*'''Child Safety Provisions:''' The DSA requires platforms serving minors to implement robust, privacy-focused safeguards—like age verification or estimation. The European Commission recommends “safety and privacy by design,” but these are guidelines rather than strict rules.

==Why it is a problem==

Every private message, photo, and file scanned automatically: no suspicion required, no exceptions*, even encrypted communications.<blockquote><small>*EU politicians exempt themselves from this surveillance under "professional secrecy" rules.  They get privacy.  You and your family do not. Demand fairness.</small></blockquote>

Weakening or breaking end-to-end encryption exposes everyone’s communications—including sensitive financial, medical, and private data—to hackers, criminals, and hostile actors.

===<u>Key Campaigns & Movements</u>===

A leading citizen-driven campaign against the EU's "Chat Control" legislation, Fightchatcontrol.eu <ref>{{Cite web |title=Fight Chat Control: About |url=https://fightchatcontrol.eu/about}}</ref> tracks Member States' stances, shares news, provides tools to email EU representatives, and highlights privacy dangers—including mass scanning of all private digital communications (even encrypted ones) and the threat to fundamental rights under the EU Charter . The platform explicitly states its mission is to protect privacy and digital security and empower individuals to oppose these laws. The movement is widely referenced in online communities, such as ''/r/ireland,'' for its clear mapping of EU member positions and practical activism risks <ref>{{Cite web |title=A Danish programmer built a website to highlight every single EU members stance on the new mass surveillance tool Chat Control 2.0 and its implications for you as a citizen in the European Union |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/ireland/comments/1mnkecx/a_danish_programmer_built_a_website_to_highlight/}}</ref>.

===<u>Prominent Articles and Reports</u>===

Details how age verification under the UK’s OSA requires millions of adults to share facial scans or ID documents with third-party firms. Experts warn this creates massive biometric and ID databases vulnerable to hacks, calling them “honeypots for cybercriminals,” and stating that breached biometric data can never truly be changed, exposing people to lifelong privacy.

Reuters and other news outlets highlight the risk to free speech, with platforms like X warning about indiscriminate censorship and loss of safe online spaces.

*Compulsory use of government IDs, biometrics, and facial recognition destroys basic online anonymity—users are permanently linked to every activity, risking exposure and discrimination <ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />.

*Age-gating and content moderation force many smaller sites to shut down and chill participation in support, activist, and political communities, especially those depending on anonymity for safety <ref name=":2" />

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" />.