Online Safety Bill Etc

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

User to user websites & sites where pornography is uploaded are now making preparations in order to ensure that they do not fall foul of the forthcoming age verification requirement.

These include verifying users themselves or outsourcing the function, blocking the UK from their service, closing down etc.

Although this is not endorsed by Ofcom (the regulator for these sites), this site does contain some useful information for those affected by this change:

OnlineSafetyAct.co.uk

Meanwhile anyone who wants to access these sites once they become geoblocked, will do what every internet user who wants to evade a geoblock already does.

This legislation is a classic case of the government needing to be seen to Do Something, whether what they do addresses the problem or not.

Originally Posted by RichardCoulter

User to user websites & sites where pornography is uploaded are now making preparations in order to ensure that they do not fall foul of the forthcoming age verification requirement.

These include verifying users themselves or outsourcing the function, blocking the UK from their service, closing down etc.

So naive, ever heard of VPN's

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by Chris

Meanwhile anyone who wants to access these sites once they become geoblocked, will do what every internet user who wants to evade a geoblock already does.

This legislation is a classic case of the government needing to be seen to Do Something, whether what they do addresses the problem or not.

Was told that a local school senior pupils are selling vpn connections to younger kids.not sure how that would work. This problem was passed up the food chain , the legal brains says nothing can be done about it. Could be a breach of contract but that's it.

[jem]

More likely a case of more knowledgable people ‘selling’ how to set up a VPN to less knowledgable people.

In an odd way, you sort of have to admire them, there is obviously a demand to access porn and so, as often happens someone will step in to fill this need.

Of course it might have been better for the government to approach this from a perspective of ‘this will happen anyway, stop trying to compensate for bad parenting’ with a faulty technological fix.

I’m sure I have said this before but, I have two daughters, now adults, but when they were younger, 13,14,15 and had phones and tablets, I said to both of them, ‘look with the best will in the world, apply all sorts of parental controls, I know (because I do this for a living), they don’t work, and you are, absolutely are going to stumble over something that you don’t like, not sure this is ‘right’.

And when you do you come to me or you Mum and we will explain it to you. Importantly, no, you will not be punished or sanctioned or questioned about it. In fact quite the reverse, good for you for querying what you see and asking about it.'

Girls don’t like or watch porn? Rubbish, they do, it’s perfectly normal, maybe, not as ‘accepted’ as boys doing it, but they do! Alas a lot of porn is made from a male, fantasy perspective. No this actually isn’t how it works (or at least should work) in real life! And maybe parents of boys should also adopt this attitude, yes you are going to want to watch ’stuff’, it's perfectly understandable; but it is fantasy, it is not, absolutely not you should behave with a partner in real life.

Or maybe it’s just me.

[Itshim]

Originally Posted by jem

More likely a case of more knowledgable people ‘selling’ how to set up a VPN to less knowledgable people.

In an odd way, you sort of have to admire them, there is obviously a demand to access porn and so, as often happens someone will step in to fill this need.

Of course it might have been better for the government to approach this from a perspective of ‘this will happen anyway, stop trying to compensate for bad parenting’ with a faulty technological fix.

I’m sure I have said this before but, I have two daughters, now adults, but when they were younger, 13,14,15 and had phones and tablets, I said to both of them, ‘look with the best will in the world, apply all sorts of parental controls, I know (because I do this for a living), they don’t work, and you are, absolutely are going to stumble over something that you don’t like, not sure this is ‘right’.

And when you do you come to me or you Mum and we will explain it to you. Importantly, no, you will not be punished or sanctioned or questioned about it. In fact quite the reverse, good for you for querying what you see and asking about it.'

Girls don’t like or watch porn? Rubbish, they do, it’s perfectly normal, maybe, not as ‘accepted’ as boys doing it, but they do! Alas a lot of porn is made from a male, fantasy perspective. No this actually isn’t how it works (or at least should work) in real life! And maybe parents of boys should also adopt this attitude, yes you are going to want to watch ’stuff’, it's perfectly understandable; but it is fantasy, it is not, absolutely not you should behave with a partner in real life.

Or maybe it’s just me.

Told they are " selling" connection.

[RichardCoulter]

From another forum user:

Civitai, the generative AI resource site, has announced to all UK users they will not be able to access the site after 24th July. Whilst it's not a porn site it does contain a lot of user generated content that can be rather explicit. However I think it does point up that a lot of smaller sites will just cut UK users adrift rather than try to comply with the rather onerous terms of the OSA.

In other words 'The OSA is too complex and the penalties too onerous on both the company and individuals for us to comply, so we'll take the easy way out and simply geoban Brits'.

I suspect a lot of smaller user content driven sites will take the same route - even if they explicitly ban dodgy stuff the costs of complying with the new rules will make them unviable. Yet again the internet is favouring the big corporations with deep pockets over the little guys we hoped would thrive on it.

No idea if this is a trend of any significance.

[nomadking]

Doesn't apply to just porn. It seems to also apply to any form of free discussion.
Even totally innocent websites have problems meeting the compliancy rules and have had to shut down.
Meanwhile the harm spread by the mainstream media goes untouched.

[Carth]

Originally Posted by nomadking

<snip>
Meanwhile the harm spread by the mainstream media goes untouched.

If I ever get the urge to read about sex, horror, death & destruction or anything else that *may* impact my delightfully innocent mind, I just look at the main media/news sites and job done.

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Carth

If I ever get the urge to read about sex, horror, death & destruction or anything else that *may* impact my delightfully innocent mind, I just look at the main media/news sites and job done.

Apart from anything else, harm isn't just about those things.
The key thing is that it also applies to sites just like this.

[Carth]

To be perfectly honest, I'm starting to think it applies to anywhere that people (or even AI in future) have a difference of opinion

[Sirius]

If only i had the money to start a VPN service, i would be quid's in. They way the offended are getting there way soon a VPN will be a necessity not a maybe

Never heard of Civitai, I tried to view it but our work system blocks it as "Adult Content" ...

[RichardCoulter]

Originally Posted by Paul

Never heard of Civitai, I tried to view it but our work system blocks it as "Adult Content" ...

Apparently, it's a user to user generated content site where users sometimes share explicit content (probably why your work system is blocking access).

It would have to comply with the Online Safety Act from Friday, so have decided to geoblock the UK from Thursday.

Originally Posted by nomadking

Apart from anything else, harm isn't just about those things.
The key thing is that it also applies to sites just like this.

It applies to every website or internet service accessible from the UK. However the bar for what constitutes adult or objectionable content is fairly high, and obviously on this forum in particular we moderate more-or-less to ‘family friendly’ standards when considering what people post, especially with regards to images or links to other sites.

No matter what some have suggested, and notwithstanding what certain other members of this forum might think, we’re not going to get prosecuted simply on the sense of personal offence of someone who reads stuff on here they just don’t like.

BBC explains, in detail, with graphics, why anyone wanting to access pr0n from the UK after tomorrow should use a VPN.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1k81lj8nvpo

It’s the bottom part of the graphic that’s truly jaw dropping. The part that says “Hey kids, here’s how you get around age restrictions”.

I guess you have to admire their commitment to public service …