Online Safety Act
UK Government Report Downplays Online Safety Act's Potential Impact on Porn Sites
The U.K. government released on Wednesday a new report assessing the likely impact of implementing the provisions of the controversial Online Safety Act (OSA), revealing adult industry concerns that a standalone provision directly targeting porn sites will render their operation in the U.K. “not feasible.”
US, UK Sign Joint Agreement to Regulate Internet 'Harms'
The U.S. and the U.K. have signed a joint agreement to coordinate efforts to regulate internet content — including adult content — in order to “advance stronger protections for children.”
FSC's Alison Boden Delivers Keynote at UK Age Assurance Regulator Event
Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Executive Director Alison Boden delivered the keynote presentation at a recent meeting on age verification hosted by U.K. communications regulator Ofcom.
FSC Offers Feedback to UK Regulator on Age Verification Guidelines
The Free Speech Coalition released a statement Tuesday detailing the response it submitted to U.K. media regulator Ofcom as part of a "consultation" soliciting industry feedback on the age verification guidelines in the new Online Safety Act.
UK Media Regulator Encourages Companies, Creators to Provide Feedback on New Rules for Adult Content
U.K media regulator Ofcom is encouraging all members of the adult industry, including companies, creators and other stakeholders, to provide feedback to help it establish new regulations under the recent Online Safety Act — regulations that will impact the accessibility of online adult content.
As UK Government Highlights New Online Crimes, Regulator Requests Adult Industry Feedback
The U.K. government issued this week a circular to inform the police and other relevant public authorities of new criminal offenses resulting from the Online Safety Act, some of which will affect adult websites.
AI Facial Scanning Providers Rush to Offer Age Verification Compliance Solutions
Several tech companies are offering new artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to estimate the age of people accessing websites, taking advantage of potentially lucrative opportunities for enabling compliance with the U.K.’s new Online Safety Act and similar legislation moving forward in the EU and the U.S.
Christian Activists Pressure UK Government to Regulate Adult Creators
Leading U.K. evangelical publication Premier Christianity published an editorial Monday by the acting CEO of its parent company, urging expansion of the Online Safety Act to directly target adult content, especially user-generated content.
UK Government Unveils Controversial Age Verification Guidelines for Adult Content
U.K. media regulator Ofcom, the government authority tasked by the recently enacted Online Safety Act with online content restriction enforcement, issued on Tuesday its first guidance to adult websites regarding age verification.
UK's Controversial 'Online Safety Bill' Becomes Law
The U.K.’s controversial Online Safety Bill received royal assent Thursday and became law.
Conservative UK Prime Minister Orders Review of All Porn Laws
Rishi Sunak, the Conservative prime minister of the U.K., has ordered a full review of British pornography laws.
Apple Warns UK Government of Serious Privacy Risks if 'Online Safety Bill' Passes
Apple has issued a statement warning against serious privacy risks that it says would result from the passage of the Online Safety Bill currently being fast-tracked by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Vice Report Eviscerates UK MP's Anti-Porn Propaganda Report
Vice this week published an article criticizing a report by the U.K.’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation (APPG-CSE), which repeated anti-porn myths and recommended a state crackdown on sexual expression online.
U.K. M.P.s Report Rehashes Anti-Porn Myths, Recommends Crackdown
The U.K.’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation (APPG-CSE) today released a report repeating myths and stereotypes peddled by anti-porn activists and recommending a wide-ranging state crackdown on sexual expression online.
UK's Online Safety Bill Remains Mired in Conceptual Chaos
The Tory government led by Rishi Sunak has reintroduced the Online Safety Bill, which has now been amended to remove some of the language that would have forced platforms to censor content the government termed “legal but harmful.”
UK: New Tory Government Backpedals From Plan to Censor 'Legal But Harmful' Content
New U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has indicated that his Tory government will backpedal from controversial language in the proposed Online Safety Bill, which would have required online services to remove content that some MPs consider “legal but harmful,” including most pornography.
Controversial UK 'Online Safety Bill' Debate Postponed Until Autumn
The U.K.’s controversial Online Safety Bill has been removed from the House of Commons schedule next week, reportedly to be revisited “in the autumn.”
Influential Labour MP Asks UK Government to 'Proactively' Police Adult Content
As the U.K.’s Online Safety Bill navigates the committee stage in the House of Commons, the Labour MP who chairs the Home Affairs Committee is actively lobbying to make the government proactively police “whether adult entertainers have properly consented to appear in pornographic films” even if there are no reports suggesting they have not.
U.K. Lord: Porn 'Normalizes Sexual Behavior' Unfit for 'Wooing a Woman'
The Earl of Erroll, a British nobleman with an inherited title dating back to the 15th century, gave a speech to the House of Lords supporting state intervention in adult content through a revamped Online Safety Bill, claiming that online porn “normalizes anal sex and blowjobs” which “are just really not about how to go around wooing a woman.”
Australia: Digital Rights Advocates Rally Against Proposed 'Online Safety Act'
Australian privacy and digital rights advocates have expressed mounting concern over the nation’s proposed Online Safety Act, one of the most extreme versions of current attempts worldwide to revise internet regulation and increase the power of the State over online speech and activities.