About the UK Online Safety Act (Information, Semi-Edited)

The UK Online Safety Act - A Short(ened) Explanation —

I know someone who’s also in the UK may not see this, but people in different countries or with Proton VPN/VPNs in general can. It took me a while to get back onto spacehey because I didn’t have the time to access it prior to the ban. Too many end-of-year tests.. :(

-  Quick opening note, PLEAASEE forgive me for the use of censors or vague detail, I’ve been on spacehey for over a year but I still don’t actually know what words and topics are and aren’t allowed on here.

The Main Topic - What is the Online Safety Act?

By now most people online have heard about the new Online Safety Act, where explicit content - pxrnxgrxphy, CSAM - have been restricted under a verification system that makes people in the UK who wish to prove their age submit pictures of their face and ID to an Artificial Intelligence third-party system.

While there are some benefits to the concept of this law, the overall execution has proven itself to be flawed, and it’s clear that this law is more than just ‘protection towards the younger generation’. (Especially since websites such as WPD.tv are still available..)

The Main Problem - Why do people not support this?

Many people would agree that it’s reducing communication and restricting access to information, and the use of AI would likely cause a lot of problems since it could mistake people to be younger than they actually are. Users on various online platforms have pointed out that mental health subreddits, information on Palestine, period advice & sex education websites have all been restricted under the verification system. How can this possibly be innapropriate?

Along with this, the usage of third party sites is considered dangerous by most due to the chance that users are essentially giving away their information to be processed by a mostly unknown source.

The main issues people have with this law stem from the fact that, despite the protection provided to prevent children stumbling across explicit content on accident/being influenced by such, many people under the age of 18 are now also losing support systems they would not be able to access in real life and important sources of information. 

Young victims of sexual assault/harrassment/abuse aren’t able to find advice online about how to heal or report their attacker, people who wish to be politically active won’t be properly educated on the current events of conflicts around the world and those suffering with poor mental health aren’t able to share and help others over their experiences.

Of course, there are still some people who (sadly) only care about access to pxrnxgraphy, as well as people who aren’t properly educated on the law and believe that it’s only about that, which is why many people choose to not take action.

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It’s 2025, people. As the future comes forward, usage of the Internet will become even more important in everyone’s daily lives. These restrictions only hold us back as a country and set back younger people from accessing valuable information. At some point, the government will need to realise how easily bypassible this new law is and actually listen to the public outrage that comes along with it.

-  This post will be edited to be longer at some point to include more information, but right now I can’t do that.