As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ... the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️ www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....

Good to see the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee pushing TikTok on the impact on #onlinesafety of its plans to make 100s of Trust and Safety staff redundant. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...

🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two, and so are we. 🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started. ✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️ mailchi.mp/581367f72801...

🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend. 🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...

🆕 We've published our cross-cutting analysis of Ofcom's #onlinesafetyact Additional Safety Measures, with more detail on the individual measures to come from us before the consultation closes next Monday (20th). ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...

🚨 NEW: OpenAI’s new “safer” version of ChatGPT actually allows more harm. TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️

"Similar to" but importantly not identical. Meta is drafting off the higher trust that people have in movie ratings to suggest that Instagram is as safe for a 13-year-old as seeing Superman. But movies aren't social media and Meta isn't even publishing its actual revised content policies

❓ The Lords' Communications and Digital Committee are asking "how is @ofcom.bsky.social implementing the #onlinesafetyact?" this afternoon: Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes & Online Safety Strategy Director Mark Bunting will be responding. Starts at 230pm. committees.parliament.uk/event/25195/...

📢 TikTok slashing Trust & Safety staff in the UK is a threat to online safety. Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision. More in @the-independent.com ⤵️

Update from @ofcom.bsky.social on its #onlinesafetyact investigations and related enforcement activity. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

🆕 Our latest #onlinesafety newsletter is out today. Parliament may have been on recess but it's hardly been quiet elsewhere. Catch up with all the latest news, research and commentary below and don't forget to subscribe to receive the next one direct. ⬇️ mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...

We're pleased to sign the open letter reported by @theguardian.com today calling for an investigation into the proposed content moderator job cuts at #TikTok ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact ⬇️ www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

🚨 NEW analysis from our expert legal adviser Prof Lorna Woods OBE on the use by @ofcom.bsky.social of a "technically feasible" proviso in many of its #onlinesafetyact code measures and recommendations on how to reduce its potential impact on user safety. 👇 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/req...

Do you know what would be good news for fact checkers? Anyone who fancied going to the @fullfact.org website (the people who wrote the widely used fact check cited by lots of people here) and clicking the donate button. We are a tiny charity and your support helps. fullfact.org/technology/d...

Morning! Society for Hopeful Technologists newsletter #2 is arriving in inboxes now. A little bit on Musk and X, much more about future plans + organising buttondown.com/society-of-h... and great to have a group of fellow organisers coming together 💪

Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London. The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into AI chatbots and their impact on children. The agency issued orders to seven companies asking them for details on their products, including how they “evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions.”

🚨 New @ofcom #onlinesafetyact consultation launched today on the draft guidance for super-complaints ✍ Deadline for responses: 3 November 👉 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

DSIT reshuffle: - Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as SoS - Ian Murray, ex-Scot Sec, replaces Chris Bryant at DSIT & DCMS (Bryant follows Kyle to DBT) - Kanishka Naryan new junior minister - Vallance stays, added role at DESNZ - Feryal Clark, Baroness Jones leave govt www.gov.uk/government/n...

The UK is leading the world in addressing online safety. The Online Safety Act holds social media companies accountable & protects kids from harms. We should be working to strengthen the OSA, not scrap it. Read our new blog to learn more ⤵️

This. ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact

Officials from @ofcom.bsky.social gave evidence yesterday to the Speaker's Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections, with the discussion focusing on implementation and enforcement of the #OnlineSafetyAct - you can watch the session back here.⬇️ www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...

The US House Judiciary Committee has been taking testimony from Nigel Farage and others this afternoon in a discussion on "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation." We've taken a look at some of the claims made about the #onlinesafetyact ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/fac...

"You can say what you like, I don’t care, because that’s what free speech is," Nigel Farage has just told the House Judiciary Committee, about three hours after his party banned me from covering its conference this weekend.

This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social

Parliament's back - and so are we. Catch up with what's been happening over August in our new-term newsletter, out today. And, if you haven't already subscribed to receive these direct every fortnight, the registration link is in the next post. mailchi.mp/1d3aa36da50b... #onlinesafetyact

“If a tool can give suicide instructions to a child, its safety system is simply useless. OpenAI must embed real, independently verified guardrails & prove they work before another parent has to bury their child.” @imranahmed.bsky.social in @washingtonpost.com on ChatGPT failing to keep kids safe 👇

⬇️ #onlinesafetyact www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

ChatGPT is betraying vulnerable teenagers. We tested OpenAI’s platform & found it generated harmful answers to over HALF of 1.2K prompts. AI companies must take safety seriously. CCDH's new research in @themirror.com 👇

Explainer here on some of the issues that have dominated the news in recent weeks. ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...

📣 Online safety campaigners, free speech advocates, and tech experts If you have thoughts and insights on the Online Safety Act, I’d love to hear them 💬 Drop me a DM/comment below

Ruling here: www.judiciary.uk/judgments/wi...

#onlinesafetyact JR ruling due today | via @politico.com

"Far from being a policy miscalculation, [the OSA] is doing exactly what it's supposed to, and part of the reason for its painful transition is that platforms have dragged their feet on building technically seamless age-checking systems." | @parmy.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Useful explainer from #DSIT ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact www.gov.uk/government/n...

This. ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact

Something for the weekend. 😉 #onlinesafetyact www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...

Amid all the noise of the last week, this is a vital reminder from Chris Sherwood @nspcc.bsky.social as to why we have the #onlinesafetyact, why parents and campaigners backed it and why it had broad cross-party support in Parliament when it passed. ⬇️ www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

💬 “The law is a good start, but we must keep speaking up for a digital world made for us.” 🇬🇧 Today, the Children’s Code under the Online Safety Act comes into effect, holding tech companies accountable. ❓ What do young people think? Read more: https://loom.ly/kzxwdCs #OnlineSafetyAct

🚨 CCDH's new research shows that conspiracies get more views than official information during extreme weather events, like the LA wildfires. X, Meta & YouTube must stop enabling and profiting from extreme weather false claims. Read more in @euronews.com ⤵️

Age-verification requirements went into effect Monday in Ireland. X appears to be in violation, says the media regulator, and could be on the hook for 10% of overall revenue if it fails to block access to pornography and Tide Pod challenges. www.rte.ie/news/2025/07...

The #onlinesafetyact children's safety duties come into force on Friday. Here's what to expect. ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Elon Musk’s X, announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from the social media platform after two years in the position. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

I cannot think of a reason why the regulators shouldn't do this. There's a clear pattern of negligent behaviour in the long lead up, followed by what happened yesterday. They are unable to operate a safe platform.

@ofcom.bsky.social has published its report on researcher access to information - a critical part of the #onlinesafety regime. (Provisions for the researcher access framework were included in the recently-passed Data (Use and Access) Act.) #onlinesafetyact www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

NEW: check out this excellent explainer on #chatbots and the #onlinesafetyact from our expert legal adviser, Prof Lorna Woods OBE ⬇️ #AI #artificialintelligence #regulation #onlineharms #onlinesafety #socialmedia #internetregulation www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/cha...

Important update from @ofcom.bsky.social , with very welcome signs of compliance from the major porn providers in the UK with #onlinesafetyact duties to prevent under-18s accessing porn ahead of the enforcement deadline next month. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Tech companies' abandoning fact-checking on their platforms has led to disinformation about the protests against the #ICERaids in LA to go viral. And AI-powered chatbots like Grok and ChatGPT are making the situation considerably worse www.wired.com/story/grok-c...

🚨 9 new online safety investigations. We're investigating whether 4chan, a porn provider and seven file-sharing services have failed to comply with their duties under the Online Safety Act. 🔗 Find out more: www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Meta wants 90% of its risk assessments done by AI, including on child safety & misinformation. CCDH joined leading organisations urging Ofcom to limit AI use in risk assessments, as it undermines the spirit of the Online Safety Act. More in @theguardian.com: www.theguardian.com/technology/2...