Alec Muffett

There are many reasons to criticise the OnlineSafetyAct but the bizarre Ofcom approach to AgeVerification demanding vast proliferation of personal information rather than obligatory acceptance of a validated credential, defies belief & exceeds all other failures ^ this

There are many reasons to criticise the OnlineSafetyAct but the bizarre Ofcom approach to AgeVerification demanding vast proliferation of personal information rather than obligatory acceptance of a validated[…]
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114220

‘But Prof Livingstone noted that it was “possible that the companies are over-blocking to undermine the Act”‘ – no, @livingstone_s, Reddit simply does not editorialise user content Sonia is quoted by the BBC: […] an expert in children’s digital rights at the London School of Economics – said that companies might “get better over time at not blocking public i…

‘But Prof Livingstone noted that it was “possible that the companies are over-blocking to undermine the Act”‘ – no, @sonialivingstone.bsky.social, Reddit simply does not editorialise user content

alecmuffett.com/article/114003 by @alecmuffett.bsky.social

Signal boss: ‘disturbing’ laws show the UK doesn’t understand tech | Times Meredith Whittaker: Whittaker thinks these two pieces of legislation are “deeply incoherent” with the UK’s stated desire to become an “AI champion”. “You get real boosterism on that side, which I t…

Signal boss: ‘disturbing’ laws show the UK doesn’t understand tech | Times
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114241
#AgeVerification #MeredithWhittaker #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

Jimmy Wales on Newsnight: “[the online safety act] is a human rights violation” Nice commentary, watch the whole thing if you can. Starts at 22:45/ish.

Jimmy Wales on Newsnight: “[the online safety act] is a human rights violation”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114234
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

The UK’s Online Safety Act is a licence for censorship – and the rest of the world is following suit | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian In order to determine who is a child, all users, no matter who they are, will be forced to turn over vast troves of valuable biometric data and for ever link their offline identity to their online …

The UK’s Online Safety Act is a licence for censorship – and the rest of the world is following suit | Taylor Lorenz | The Guardian
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114232
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #TaylorLorenz #censorship #surveillance #vpn

Bristol Young Liberal Democrats making noises about a repeal of the Online Safety Act

Ofcom apparently don’t understand “false-positive rates” nor “base rate” Take badly drafted and overlarded legislation and then summarise it badly, and you end up with a refined recipe for shadowbanning, blocking & censorship: Our children’s codes for user-to-user s…

Ofcom apparently don’t understand “false-positive rates” nor “base rate”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114231
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #OverBlocking #ShadowBanning #censorship #surveillance #vpn

Bristol LibDems: “Following the lead of @liberal_reform, we are submitting an emergency motion to the Young Liberals conference, aiming to make the **repeal** of the Online Safety Act official policy” I am mildly concerned about the upstream thread and its framing, but at least this could turn into the first serious pushback against the OSA: Hadrian’s Firewall will be breached. We will not…

Bristol LibDems: “Following the lead of @liberal_reform, we are submitting an emergency motion to the Young Liberals conference, aiming to make the **repeal** of the Online Safety Act official policy”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114298

Someone creates an idea which is only marginally more illiberal than age verification.

Thankfully this information will not be used for unintended purposes.

Ofcom conveniently listing all of the porn websites which do not adhere to age verification requirements If this is your sort of thing: On 30 July 2025, under this expanded enforcement programme, we have opened an investigation into AVS Group Ltd in relation to the adult sites [URLs…]

Ofcom conveniently listing all of the porn websites which do not adhere to age verification requirements
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114227
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #StreisandEffect #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpn

I for one welcome this form of open government for highlighting the contradictions inherent in what they are attempting to achieve

Ofcom conveniently listing all of the porn websites which do not adhere to age verification requirements If this is your sort of thing: On 30 July 2025, under this expanded enforcement programme, we have opened an investigation into AVS Group Ltd in relation to the adult sites [URLs…]

Ofcom conveniently listing all of the porn websites which do not adhere to age verification requirements
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114227
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #StreisandEffect #censorship #ofcom #surveillance #vpn

Marc Andreessen complains to Downing Street about Online Safety Act and UK tech minister Meanwhile, privacy campaigners argue the legislation has opened a space for unscrupulous companies purporting to provide age assurance services to gather and misuse reams of personal data.“Creating…

Marc Andreessen complains to Downing Street about Online Safety Act and UK tech minister
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114225
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

Bwhahahahahhahahahha

Encryption Made for Police and Military Radios May Be Easily Cracked | WIRED Sounds like one of the manufacturers had a batch of DES chips lying around: at least one implementation of the end-to-end encryption solution endorsed by ETSI has a similar issue that makes it equa…

Encryption Made for Police and Military Radios May Be Easily Cracked | WIRED
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114223
#EndToEndEncryption #etsi #tetra

Not to mention all of the Russian bugs he might leave behind

There are many reasons to criticise the #OnlineSafetyAct but the bizarre #Ofcom approach to #AgeVerification demanding vast proliferation of personal information rather than obligatory acceptance of a validated credential, defies belief and exceeds all other failures.

“I’m confused that the government advises never to give out your personal information, then introduces a law that means we have to send photos of our passports & driving licenses to anyone who asks” r/autismUK subreddit: My gut is screaming that there is something bigger at play and there’s a hidden agender, and I don’t like feeling like this. I worry for people, like my daughter, …

“I’m confused that the government advises never to give out your personal information, then introduces a law that means we have to send photos of our passports & driving licenses to anyone who asks”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114206

"yes but American hegemony"

A “political blackmail” – the EU Parliament is pressing for new mandatory scanning of your private chats | TechRadar As reported by digital rights group Netzpolitik, during the meeting held on July 11, the Parliament threatened to block an extension of the current voluntary scanning interim regulation – a tempora…

A “political blackmail” – the EU Parliament is pressing for new mandatory scanning of your private chats | TechRadar
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114221
#ChatControl #ClientSideScanning #EndToEndEncryption #censorship #privacy #security #surveillance

There are many reasons to criticise the #OnlineSafetyAct but the bizarre #Ofcom approach to #AgeVerification demanding vast proliferation of personal information rather than obligatory acceptance of a validated credential, defies belief and exceeds all other failures.

“I’m confused that the government advises never to give out your personal information, then introduces a law that means we have to send photos of our passports & driving licenses to anyone who asks” r/autismUK subreddit: My gut is screaming that there is something bigger at play and there’s a hidden agender, and I don’t like feeling like this. I worry for people, like my daughter, …

“I’m confused that the government advises never to give out your personal information, then introduces a law that means we have to send photos of our passports & driving licenses to anyone who asks”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114206

Repeal the Online Safety Act | Petitions | 500,775 signatures at Wednesday 2315h Visit the post for more.

Repeal the Online Safety Act | Petitions | 500,775 signatures at Wednesday 2315h
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114202
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

I think Wendy attempted three times to make a point and the others kept on talking over each other and I'm also pretty sure there was a fairly horrendous belch or similar noise. It sounded like an evening down the pub with a bunch of tech activists who have mostly had a pint or three.

If you are in the UK and you do Cybersecurity or Infosec, protest the #OnlineSafetyAct implementation by calling yourself a "self-proclaimed expert" — before the government does it for you.

David Aaronovich on media coverage of the Online Safety Act: “when are you going to have someone on to tell you what the downsides are?” This is what happens when you let public policy be driven and architected by aggrieved parents, child charities and techlash advocates:

David Aaronovich on media coverage of the Online Safety Act: “when are you going to have someone on to tell you what the downsides are?”
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114173
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

If you are in the UK and you do Cybersecurity or Infosec, protest the #OnlineSafetyAct implementation by calling yourself a "self-proclaimed expert" — before the government does it for you.

“Age verification: what’s the harm?” | Girl on the Net explains A very good, frank, post from GotN, who has a largely NSFW website but addresses a very broad set of issues in this explainer:

“Age verification: what’s the harm?” | Girl on the Net explains
https://alecmuffett.com/article/114168
#AgeVerification #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #censorship #surveillance #vpn

From an Ofcom guidance: Business disruption measures 9.4 9.5 9.6 Business disruption measures are orders made by a court on an application from Ofcom. They apply to third parties which are able to disrupt the provision of the regulated service and thereby reduce the risk of harm to UK citizens and consumers. The third party need not be an Ofcom regulated entity and may not have had any previous dealings with Ofcom. The Act provides for four types of business disruption measure: a) a service restriction order; b) an interim service restriction order; c) an access restriction order; and d) an interim access restriction order. A service restriction order is an order applying to one or more providers of 'ancillary services' to a non-compliant regulated service. An ancillary service is a service that facilitates the provision of the regulated service (or part of it) (for example, payment processing services) or one that displays or promotes content in relation to the regulated service (for example an ad server). 110 The criteria with which a court must be satisfied to grant an application for an order are set out in section 144(3) and (4) of the Act and include that the court must be satisfied that the service provider has failed and is continuing to fail with an enforceable requirement or with a Technology Notice under section 121(1) of the Act. 111 A service restriction order requires the ancillary service against which an order is obtained to take steps aimed at disrupting the relevant regulated service in the UK...

Ofcom says that if you refuse to censor yourself under the Online Safety Act, it will force payment processors and ISPs to stop doing business with you.

When the government can't shut you up, the banks and credit cards will.

Absolutely terrifying.

www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/r...