Different from Ofcom e-mailing demands and notices direct, to which 4Chan has taken objection on territorial sovereignty grounds in its US litigation. #OnlineSafetyAct

Interesting insights into how German authorities have sought to serve NetzDG process cross-border. #EnforcementJurisdiction x.com/prestonjbyrn...

Interesting insights into how German authorities have sought to serve NetzDG process cross-border. #EnforcementJurisdiction x.com/prestonjbyrn...

In what possible universe could Article 35 (risk mitigation) be described as a ‘clear’ rule? Even the DSA’s supporters think it should be amended to make it clear. husovec.eu/wp-content/u...

"It's worked fine for 6+ months, then it generated a completely fake discount code and an offer for 25% off, later rising to 80% off as it tried to impress him" lmao

How to taint the cause of upholding freedom of expression.

If you want to read the transcript of the February 3 hearing where Julie Le had her "this job sucks" meltdown, now you can: drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...

Plus 'wild west' and 'what is illegal offline must be illegal online'. Every tired old slogan in one go! In any case the DSA doesn't make any online content illegal - or so they keep telling us.

I don't know if it's intentional or not, but amidst the more robust defending by the EU Commission of its rulebook in the face of US criticism, we're seeing the return of the descriptor for US tech uniquely associated with former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton. 'Too big to care'.

“Not a guaranteed win” is an enormous euphemism…

My leader on banning social media, and more broadly the place of science in policymaking www.newscientist.com/article/mg26...

The Wyoming GRANITE Act, now introduced as a Bill. We await seeing whether a trailed federal Bill will be a pure shield, or add teeth to state legislation swords e.g. by amending the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act - or, indeed, contain a sword of its own. #OnlineSafetyAct #DSA t.co/oXvDXErrfF

The Wyoming GRANITE Act, now introduced as a Bill. We await seeing whether a trailed federal Bill will be a pure shield, or add teeth to state legislation swords e.g. by amending the US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act - or, indeed, contain a sword of its own. #OnlineSafetyAct #DSA t.co/oXvDXErrfF

UK regulator Ofcom and the CSEA watchdog IWF are stepping up formalised cooperation under the UK Online Safety Act. Presumably this will mean Ofcom leveraging IWF's intelligence and data to support CSEA supervision and enforcement actions. www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

The problem with these attempts to regulate prices, especially after agreements have already been entered into, is that they damage the market. Price caps always create shortages. ie we'll get fewer flats.

Alternatively. www.cyberleagle.com/2025/12/repe...

Great to be joined by cross-party Parliamentarians, DSIT Minister Kanishka Narayan and our fabulous civil society partners in Parliament today to launch our 10-point plan to strengthen the #onlinesafetyact - there's much to do but the commitment to working with us to do it was hugely welcome.

Thank God there were people filming. This administration would have said Alex Pretti pulled a handgun, a package of fentanyl, and a signed copy of the Communist Manifesto if they could.

One of the many damaging effects of the Online Safety Act is that every time something bad happens online, people assume that the OSA is the only place to look for an answer and that it must provide one: a legislative black hole, sucking policy options over the event horizon, never to be seen again.

One of the many damaging effects of the Online Safety Act is that every time something bad happens online, people assume that the OSA is the only place to look for an answer and that it must provide one: a legislative black hole, sucking policy options over the event horizon, never to be seen again.

“…charities and experts warn that these videos may not fit into any specific category of content defined as unlawful by the UK's Online Safety Act.” Never mind the OSA, what about anti-social behaviour injunctions? 1/2 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Give me the humility to know I don’t know and the wisdom to know I can never know.’ The Social Architect’s Prayer.

‘Give me the humility to know I don’t know and the wisdom to know I can never know.’ The Social Architect’s Prayer.

Here is the newly-unsealed State Department memo confirming -- finally -- that the detention of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk was based on an op-ed. No antisemitic activity. No support of terrorism. An op-ed in a student newspaper. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

📅 LONDON | Feb 25: How is the European Court of Human Rights reshaping the boundaries of free expression?

www.joxleywrites.jmoxley.co.uk/p/airport-bo... Great piece on “airport book brain” - the tendency of politicians to swallow simplistic solutions. Latest example the Jonathan Haidt book shaping policy on teens and social media

verfassungsblog.de/cjeu-russmed... Interesting comment on Russmedia. What I am wondering is if small online marketplaces do become antsy they may be required to proactively check up on sensitive content, does this make them far more likely to put themselves under umbrella of a VLOP.. 1/2

For those interested in online safety the Global Online Safety Regulators Network (GOSRN) ‘Regulatory Index’ is a useful comparative resource. www.esafety.gov.au/sites/defaul...

Next month the folks at @cato.org are hosting a daylong event on the 30th anniversary of Section 230. There are plenty of great speakers line up (and me). www.cato.org/events/secti...

peak UK to spend 5 years debating the Online Safety Act, 3 years enacting it, 1 month rendering it largely irrelevant before it's taken effect by banning the problem it was supposed to solve

It's working exactly as designed and predicted. But let's blame the engineer, not the architects.

"Insert a definition of safety by design into the Act to make clear to Ofcom and services what Parliament intended,". Except that no-one - including its proponents - is agreed on what it was supposed to mean. In particular, does it or does it not include automated content detection?

Extraordinary how little discussion there was of the Nash amendment banning provision of VPNs to under-18s. Basically just waved through alongside the under-16 social media ban.

🚨 Lord Nash won the vote on his #socialmedia amendment in the Lords last night - read the transcript here, including Baroness Kidron on #safetybydesign & support from Lord Clement-Jones & Viscount Colville for our proposals to strengthen the #onlinesafetyact 👇🏻 hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2026-0...

It's working exactly as designed and predicted. But let's blame the engineer, not the architects.

Anyone who knows the first thing about regulation by regulator could - in fact, did - have predicted what implementation would look like. Kidron et al charged ahead regardless. I'll be interested to see what she expects the government actually to do if it goes back to the Commons.

Kidron's position is, it seems, she'll vote for any amendment that'll forces the government to act, even amendments that the experts don't support. Politics. 😑

An interesting piece from the NSPCC - A social media ban would punish teens for the failures of tech platforms www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

A UK social media ban “the wrong tool for the job” say academics, Dr Harry Dyer, Dr Simon Hammond and Prof Paul Bernal. They say it could encourage young people to engage in risky behaviour in the name of ‘safety’. Read more: https://bit.ly/49MCYWj #SocialMediaBan #Academia #ThisIsUEA

“One of those planning to vote for Nash’s amendment is the film director and technology campaigner Beeban Kidron.” Hasn’t she always been opposed to a ban?

Well. Who'd have thought it? The Government's attempts to stave off a defeat in the Lords with a rushed announcement of a consultation on a #socialmedia ban - a consultation that isn't actually going to be ready to launch for a number of weeks ... haven't worked. www.theguardian.com/media/2026/j...

"Insert a definition of safety by design into the Act to make clear to Ofcom and services what Parliament intended,". Except that no-one - including its proponents - is agreed on what it was supposed to mean. In particular, does it or does it not include automated content detection?

"We believe the most efficient and effective way to stop the tech companies continuing to harm our children - and many others - is to strengthen and enforce the existing #onlinesafetyact." Our response to the Government's #socialmedia consultation today.👇🏻 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/str...

"My ultimate vision... is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times" Also, "This doesn't mean watching people who are non-criminals" - yes, explicitly it does

But they get a trip to Australia to "learn first-hand from their approach" so, that's nice. www.gov.uk/government/n...

' "The national emergency is avoiding a national emergency." The man is a genius! It's the emergency that can never end! Eight words that, in their terseness and inherent circularity, recall the great works of Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco.'

If the first few weeks are anything to go by, this year is likely to be another one of whirlwind developments for those of us working on online safety regulation globally. Amongst all the messy data points, there’s some overarching policy trends on which I’ll be keeping a keen eye (1/9):

They have now realised: replacement amendment.

Here's what Shakespeare actually wrote in around 1596 about the loss of a son - in King John. In the play, the young Prince Arthur isn't dead yet, but his mother knows she will never see him again. For me, this is far more moving and pertinent than anything in Hamnet.