IP blocking the UK is not enough to comply with the Online Safety Act | Hacker News
https://alecmuffett.com/article/119703
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #PrestonByrne #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpns
#ageverification
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VPN Ban Discussions Continue in the UK to Enforce Age Verification
Politicians in the UK are in serious discussions about the possibility of banning VPNs altogether for the sake of enforcing awful age verification laws.
https://www.freezenet.ca/vpn-ban-discussions-continue-in-the-uk-to-enforce-age-verification/
Finally 4Chan becomes the broken analog clock that is right twice a day. Back in August they announced that as a US company with zero UK "business presence," they were REFUSING TO PAY the UK's fines for not verifying user ages under that privacy-busting "online safety act." They've basically told the UK's regulatory agency OFCOM to stuff it.
The UK will attempt to block 4Chan but the same VPN's and tor use that defeat porn bans will slice through this like a Japanese sword through a roll of toilet paper.
Here's the quote from 4Chan's law firms as reported by the BBC:
"Under settled principles of US law, American courts will not enforce foreign penal fines or censorship codes. "
In other words, publicly defying the Online Safety Act or any other foreign censorship law violates no US law.
Not suprisingly given what 4Chan's content is, they are turning to Trump to tell the UK government to stuff it. Mastodon hosts don't need Trump or Bernie for that, they can do it themselves. The irony is that a site whose content is actually worth banning is the one the UK can't ban.
Still, if 4Chan can publicly defy the "online safety act," so can everyone else that doesn't sell ads in the UK or have a server there. That includes all non-UK sites that don't sell ads at all of course, like most Mastodon servers. It also means the big sites like FB and Google could close their UK offices and do the same, just like when Google pulled out of China rather than comply with their surveillance demands.
Disgustingly, 4Chan has partnered with Kiwifarms to sue OFCOM in a US court over this. US courts have no jurisdiction over UK matters. It is not in the interest of anyone resisting OFCOM to establish one country's courts having jurisdiction over ANYTHING in another country. This means 4chan and Kiwifarms are taking a stupid, reckless risk of establishing an adverse legal precedent of extraterritorial jurisdiction just so they can beat their chests a little harder about defying a foreign censorship law.
If it were possible to block any two websites and only those two in the US, in the UK, or anywhere else, 4Chan and Kiwifarms would be an excellent choice of targets.
Note that Wikimedia is also fighting to avoid complying with this garbage piece of legislation. Would be a real problem if UK users had to look on 4Chan to find out how to access Wikipedia.
In addition, the FTC has ordered the US big tech companies NOT to comply with any demands from OFCOM that weaken the privacy of their US based users (what little privacy those user have...)
Legal.io4chan Rejects UK Online Safety Act Fines, Turns to Trump Administration for Support4chan refuses to pay UK Online Safety Act fines, claiming extraterritorial overreach, and asks the Trump administration to push back against enforcement.
Fortgeführter Thread
I see many people took this as a request for recommendations, and this is great for others who are looking, but what I mean here is tech shouldn't collect any data on children.
If we are going to use the argument that we are trying to protect the children (Chat Control, Age Verification, etc), then we should see governments being enraged at how corporations collect data on children (and their parents).
If this excuse was true, governments wouldn't be trying to collect even more data on children, and everyone else, as a supposedly solution.
I find it appalling that anyone could buy this as an excuse to accept more surveillance.
This is the opposite of what we need to do to protect the children (and the adults).
BBC reporting: “Reddit added to #Australia's social media ban on under-16s”
‘Delaying children's access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll," said Australia's #eSafety #Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.’
…
‘It is unclear how #companies will implement the ban - which is being closely watched by global leaders - but some of the potential methods include using official #IDdocuments, parental approval and #FacialRecognition technology. Critics have raised concerns over #DataPrivacy and the accuracy of #AgeVerification software, with a recent report showing the proposed methods all have risks or shortcomings’
#reddit / #JulieInmanGrant / #AnikaWells / #OnlineSafetyAmendmentAct / #SocialMediaMinimumAge / #Labor <https://bbc.com/news/articles/cn0gkg7x59go>
bbc.comReddit added to Australia's teen social media ban due to start next monthThe ban takes effect on 10 December and also includes Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram.
The age verification effect: adult site traffic plummets, VPN use soars
Pornhub said visits to its site from the UK had fallen by 77% since the Online Safety Act came into force at the end of July, 2025.
Some of the drop in traffic may be due to widespread use of VPN apps as people feel uncomfortable linking their personal data to their online activity.
#UK #OSA #pornhub #ageverification #vpn #surveillance #privacy #regulation #technoloy #tech
TechRadar · The age verification effect: adult site traffic plummets, VPN use soars
Any Californians here?
California just opened public comment on its new “Online Age Verification” law, SB 976. Framed as a way to protect kids from social media addiction, it could force every Californian to submit government ID just to post or comment online.
https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/1ompf0b/fyi_california_just_opened_public_comment_on_its/
#Italy will require #ageverification for #pornsites starting November 12th. Users will need to verify their age through a “certified third party” each time they access a site, with penalties for non-compliant sites. https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/italy-will-be-the-latest-country-to-require-age-verification-for-porn-sites-170913842.html?eicker.news #tech #media #news
Engadget · Italy will be the latest country to require age verification for porn sites
Papers please, comrade ...
"Politicians and tech companies love using these terms interchangeably because it obscures what they're actually proposing. A law that requires "age assurance" sounds reasonable and moderate. But if that law defines age assurance as requiring government ID verification, it's not moderate at all—it's mass surveillance."
#RindalaAlajaji, #EFF, 2025
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-guide-terminology
Electronic Frontier Foundation · Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide to the TerminologyIf you've been following the wave of age-gating laws sweeping across the country and the globe, you've probably noticed that lawmakers, tech companies, and advocates all seem to be using different terms for what sounds like the same thing. Age verification, age assurance, age estimation, age gating...
#AgeVerification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide to the Terminology
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-guide-terminology
Electronic Frontier Foundation · Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide to the TerminologyIf you've been following the wave of age-gating laws sweeping across the country and the globe, you've probably noticed that lawmakers, tech companies, and advocates all seem to be using different terms for what sounds like the same thing. Age verification, age assurance, age estimation, age gating...
Just so you know, we need to push back against privacy-invasive regulations.
Each and every time.
Shrugging and using a VPN will not save you. They will come for the VPNs next.
Then the ISPs.
Then more.
Pushing against unjust laws matters.
The tools alone will not save you in the long run.
"#Pornhub said the number of #UK visitors to its website was down 77 per cent compared with July, when more rigorous age checks for sexually explicit sites were introduced under the #OnlineSafetyAct, the BBC reports."
That's about the number of people who know how to use a VPN service
https://www.wantedinrome.com/news/italy-to-launch-age-verification-system-for-porn-sites.html
Wanted in Rome · Italy to launch age verification system for porn sites
"If you've been following the wave of age-gating laws sweeping across the country and the globe, you've probably noticed that lawmakers, tech companies, and advocates all seem to be using different terms for what sounds like the same thing. Age verification, age assurance, age estimation, age gating—they get thrown around interchangeably, but they technically mean different things. And those differences matter a lot when we're talking about your rights, your privacy, your data, and who gets to access information online.
So let's clear up the confusion. Here's your guide to the terminology that's shaping these laws, and why you should care about the distinctions."
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/age-verification-estimation-assurance-oh-my-guide-terminology
Electronic Frontier Foundation · Age Verification, Estimation, Assurance, Oh My! A Guide to the TerminologyIf you've been following the wave of age-gating laws sweeping across the country and the globe, you've probably noticed that lawmakers, tech companies, and advocates all seem to be using different terms for what sounds like the same thing. Age verification, age assurance, age estimation, age gating...
#Australia’s #SocialMedia ban is “problematic,” but platforms will comply anyway
Ars Technica · Australia’s social media ban is “problematic,” but platforms will comply anyway
Antwortete im Thread
@Wtebbens
> Yivi ... provides authentication with an attribute (e.g. "verified over 18 y.o.) and shields your other details
Intriguing, thanks for the tip. I'll look into this. Good to see full source code available, some components under Apache 2.0 license;
https://github.com/privacybydesign
Thoughts @lightweight? @rabble?
GitHubYiviBack in charge of your digital data. Yivi has 71 repositories available. Follow their code on GitHub.
Age Verification Being Circumvented… By Using Old Podcasts?
There are many ways people are circumventing age verification. One novel way is apparently by using an old podcasts comments section.
https://www.freezenet.ca/age-verification-being-circumvented-by-using-old-podcasts/
NSFUK
I thought my YT client was glitching because a lot of videos just disappeared.
It turns out those videos were indeed hidden due to the latest changes in the ToS.
Creators when hearing the news decided to just hide most of their content rather than going through one by one to get them clear.
Criminals Pop the Champagne. Google Implements Age Verification for Google Play
Android users will soon have to fork over all of their information if they want to download apps in the Google Play store.
As Social Media Restrictions Spread, Is The Internet Entering Its Victorian Era?
Techdirt · As Social Media Restrictions Spread, Is The Internet Entering Its Victorian Era?A wave of proposed social media bans for young people has swept the globe recently, fuelled by mounting concern about the apparent harm the likes of TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat can cause to vuln…