US Troll site Kiwi Farms receives Ofcom demand for Online Safety Act “Risk Assessment”, rejects it on 1A/Jurisdiction grounds, demands MLAT
https://alecmuffett.com/article/113056
#1StAmendment #KiwiFarms #OnlineSafetyAct #cloudflare #ofcom #trolls
There's still time to put pressure on the UK government.
The UK Secretary of State has the power to exempt small, safely moderated websites from the Online Safety duties.
We need urgent change to protect net plurality, rather than further consolidating power in monopoly platforms. We need competition for a safer Internet.
Write to your MP (UK) #SaveOurSites 
https://action.openrightsgroup.org/save-our-sites-write-your-mp
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.
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 
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/save-our-sites-deadline-17-march/
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
Waiting in one of the car parks of the general hospital for the rest of the crew to arrive, today we are moving the #CommunityRadio #transmitter to the roof of the Maternity block. Alas, NHS won't allow me to share photos of the installation for security reasons (there's a lot of critical national infrastructure up there!) but #Ofcom are allowing us more TX power and it's a really good location, should get a few more km range on #VHF / #FM
New #Documentation: Geo-blocking UK users in #BunnyCDN
I've got a site that, I think, #Ofcom _could_ decide falls under Part 5 of the #OnlineSafetyAct (actually, more accurately, I can't say definitively enough that they wouldn't).
I'm not willing to pay any money to the Age Verification industry, or let them have visitor data.
So, I've decided to move the site definitively out of scope by ensuring it doesn't have UK users
The post describes how to geoblock the UK
https://www.bentasker.co.uk/posts/documentation/general/geoblocking-uk-users-with-bunnycdn.html
Carpe DM 
?
End-to-end encryption = online safety. It keeps what we send on messaging apps secure from hackers and predators.
Tell Ofcom NOT to implement message scanning powers in their consultation.
You have until 5pm TODAY!
https://action.openrightsgroup.org/48-hours-tell-ofcom-practice-safe-text
Save Encryption. Save the World
Only by blocking message scanning technology on messaging apps can we ensure online safety!
End-to-end encryption prevents predators and hackers from weeding their way into our private lives.
We must #PracticeSafeText 
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/the-case-for-encryption/
Message scanning tech on everyone's phone would expose us to dangerous new threats.
How does that achieve online safety?
Tell Ofcom NOT to break end-to-end encryption in their consultation, ending Monday 10 March.
Use our tool to say #PracticeSafeText
https://action.openrightsgroup.org/48-hours-tell-ofcom-practice-safe-text
No safe message scanning technology exists.
These powers would force a cybersecurity weakness onto apps like WhatsApp and Signal.
Hackers, predators and spies could crowbar their way into everything you send.
Tell Ofcom: End-to-end Encryption Means Online Safety https://action.openrightsgroup.org/48-hours-tell-ofcom-practice-safe-text
CLOSES Monday 10 March at 5pm.
Time is Running Out to Save Encryption 
Ofcom is consulting on implementing message scanning powers in the UK Online Safety Act.
This would break end-to-end encryption on the messaging apps we all use!
CLOSES Monday 10 March, 5pm.
Use our tool to tell Ofcom #PracticeSafeText
ACT NOW 
https://action.openrightsgroup.org/48-hours-tell-ofcom-practice-safe-text
The UK Online Safety Act gave Ofcom powers that could make companies scan your private messages.
But cybersecurity experts agree that weakening encryption with ‘backdoors’ harms everyone’s safety.
We want governments to promote security features, NOT threaten them.
Privacy is online safety.
I'm getting a few offers of people to take over the forum I've been hosting (and shutting down due to the #Ofcom mess) , but somehow I don't think these are the kind of people I want hosting anything.
Asking "are you on facebook or instagram?" does disqualify you. Entirely.
This week's net.wars, "Isolate", signs the Global Encryption Coalition's letter opposing Britain's demand that Apple backdoor encryption on its cloud service worldwide, and imagines the worst possible timeline where it's coupled it with Ofcom's rules under the Online Safety Act: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/02/14/isolate/. #NetWars #Ofcom #Encryption #Apple #UKPolice
If you're in the UK, please help stop #GBNews spreading hate speech and homophobia, by signing this petition to #Ofcom by the Good Law Project:
https://action.goodlawproject.org/ofcom-stop-gb-news-broadcasting-hate
Sorry all the Fediverse users in the UK, but I'm now talking to a few Mastodon admins to remind them to geoblock the United Kingdom. So sorry about this, but the risk is too high. #Ofcom
Outrageous attack on the #fediverse coming from #Ofcom who think they are just doing their best implementing the #onlinesafetyact, but may inadvertently kill the fediverse for the UK.
What's a significant number of UK users? Do you need to age verify? No firm answers, no guarantees, etc etc.
The UK Online Safety Act creates a compliance headache for small community site, causing some to shut down completely.
This event by Ofcom might help you understand your new requirements.
12 February 2025 12:30-14:00 GMT
I don't think #BBC are lying as such here, but they using a limitation of their own playout system to reduce reputation damage - full track details of new artists aren't always logged on the playout systems they use (I've seen this happen with my own eyes) so its easy to deny that a certain track was played. #BBC (and #Ofcom) really do need to have a good hard look (and listen) at what kind of music they promote on #Radio1 #drillmusic #crime #London >>
