webtrekker Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 The Conservative Woman, TCW, a popular site, has closed down its daily forum due to the need to adhere to the diktats of the Online Safety Act (OSA,) which began today. Hundreds have already followed suit, and who knows where it will end. The fines for non-compliance, or 'proven' complaints, are eye watering, at £18 MILLION, or 10% of the site's profits, WHICHEVER IS THE GREATER!!! Here is the statement issued by Kathy Gyngell, one of the site's owners... Quote My TCW week in review: Dark days of online censorship THIS was the week of ultimate British navel-gazing. Internecine warfare at Reform continued unabated; a ‘pile-on’ joined by anyone and everyone with a personal score to settle or vendetta to pursue, swept up in a tide of rebuttal and retaliation, blind to everything else. Eyes off the wheel, once again. I am not in this instance talking about Starmer’s scrapping of NHS England and shameless stealing of the right’s clothes as reality strikes over the UK’s parlous finances. State waste and inefficiency – quangos which Reform could have targeted among a yet (ever?) to be announced list of ‘deep-state purge’ promises. I am talking about the Online Safety Act (another great State intrusion into personal freedom), the ‘illegal harms’ aspect of which come fully into force at midnight tonight. Reform, like the rest of establishment right, seems to have bowed down to this Tory invention without an analysis, let alone a fight. Please correct me, readers, if I am wrong. Yet one thing for sure that Starmer is not going to bend to the ‘Right’ over is depoliticising the judiciary, nor will he retreat over the wonderful new censorship powers over social media that the Online Safety Act gives him. This is part of his anti-free speech war against us, and America too, that J D Vance so rightly charged Europe with a few weeks ago – those increasingly brazen legislative assaults on ‘democratic values’- that N S Lyons discussed on TCW last week. We knew this was coming. I have discussed the implications of this Tory-introduced bill in the past with Mark Steyn, when we at TCW were hit with a six-month mobile phone ban in May 2022, courtesy of the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) who, we were to find out, was the regulator in charge of the mobile phone companies; and also on further occasions, when the Online Safety Bill was announced. Ominously, banning mobile phone access to our site was on the grounds of our ‘inappropriate content for under 18-year-olds’ – not, may I say, justified by any porn ‘finds’. ‘The Conservative Woman? Were they joking?’ I asked at the time. Me, a second coming of Mary Whitehouse? No, they justified it by a handful of comments (out of some 40,000 comments on the system they trawled) that had slipped through our moderation net that were either homophobic or racist. It was a slow and painful process (six months in all before we were back to normal) to find and delete the offending comments and persuade the BBFC to lift the ban first on the site and then, after two more months, on the comments. We lost thousands of readers over this period. In retrospect, it looks like a dry run for the Online Safety Act. The BBFC’s statement denouncing and demonising us remains on its website for all to see to this day. And yes, it came from one anonymous ‘request to review’ us. That’s exactly the complaint/reporting compliance that is built into the new legislation. It is very unclear which websites must comply. To find out, you need to read all the reams of documentation, try to answer the questions in their ‘tool’, carry out a ‘risk assessment’ and a ‘child access assessment’, document it all, update your terms and conditions, create new procedures for people to report content and complain, add your name as the person responsible – only then can you cross your fingers that your understanding of your new legal duties is correct. The potential fines for noncompliance or ‘proven’ complaints are eye-watering. No wonder several sites have already closed down or are making their content unavailable to the UK. I am afraid that the full force of this reality for us at TCW only caught up with me this last week, thanks to pressing alerts from TCW’s webmistress. I have been struggling with various Government and Ofcom ‘guidance’ and multiple commentaries on it ever since, trying to work out the implications for TCW. False communications are already in its remit. What compliance is demanded for us not to be breaking the law? It’s a bureaucratic nightmare to wade through it, as noted above; it is designed to defeat you, apart from anything else. Kafkaesque. Not, I can assure you, a way I enjoy spending my time. After several hours reading the small print, it became difficult to avoid the conclusion that it is our comments sections that put us at most risk. Though the Act guidance states that posted comments relating to the blog post above them are exempt, TCW could be held accountable for posts by third parties (commentators) that are unrelated (off-topic) to the content on that site or that include images, videos or links. Our Readers’ Forum is certainly not exempt, as it allows someone to comment on anything. It is therefore in scope of the Online Safety Act. The more I read, the more worried I became about the other comments too which are often interactive and off-topic. In response to one legal request to clarify liability for such off-topic content, Ofcom repeated that ‘Content will be exempt if it comprises comments or reviews “relating to” provider content. (But) The Act makes no mention of how closely connected to the provider content the comment or review must be to benefit from this exemption.’ If we were to continue to allow off-topic comments (and the definition of that will be Ofcom’s, as it was for covid misinformation), we’d need to do a risk assessment described above and have that in place. Here is a sample. Frankly, I am not personally prepared to go through this on top of all my other daily stresses as Editor. I don’t even know if after all the effort it will protect us. We know that Ofcom are hostile to independent-thinking journalists like Mark Steyn. We know that Hope not Hate already have us in their sightline. Regardless, it is one big self-censorship operation that I’d be agreeing to which I disapprove of in principle. Comments are not the hill I am prepared to sacrifice the site or my home on. This is why with deep regret I have decided that we must discontinue our Readers Forum from tomorrow. From today, in order to protect us, I have also taken the decision to restrict any posting of images, videos or links on comments underneath articles. We just cannot (and do not at the moment) check them all, but links can be obfuscated, nor can we risk links to illegal content. Therefore, we will be setting all comment filters to the highest setting. This means the strictest Disqus auto-moderation in which lots of comments will be caught. We have neither the time nor money to moderate them all, so they will be auto deleted. I am sorry. I am not sure that even this will protect us from the potential deployment of the Act. It may be that, in the coming weeks, we have to lose comments altogether. The simple fact is that we cannot fight this on our own. It’s been a depressing read for you today, I am afraid, as it has been for me to write. Not least because the very people who should be fighting this latest assault on our freedom, for us and with us, are too busy fighting each other. My question is: Will this forum go the same way, if it is shown to be non-compliant? 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webtrekker Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/online-safety/information-for-industry/illegal-harms/overview-of-regulated-services.pdf?v=387540 The duties in the Act apply to providers of services with links to the UK regardless of where in the world they are based. The number of online services subject to regulation could total more than 100,000 and range from some of the largest tech companies in the world to very small services. So, even for websites based in another country, if some of your members are from the UK then you are at risk of non-compliance. This Act is an assault on Free Speech, and primarily designed to close down all discussion of whatever TPTB don't want discussed. End of. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi3141 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 20 hours ago, webtrekker said: This Act is an assault on Free Speech, and primarily designed to close down all discussion of whatever TPTB don't want discussed. End of. So.... I guess you answered your own question. Probably, they will target this site. Probably, it will be too risky or costly to manage - what if an 'agent' posts an illegal comment and reports it? We're f@cked. Sad times. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pi3141 Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 There's a moral argument for reducing welfare bill, but apparently no moral argument for going after tax avoiders. There's a moral argument to Police the internet, but no moral argument for free speech. F@cking politicians. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamingeagle Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 27 minutes ago, pi3141 said: We're f@cked. Never....!!! Universe always finds a balance !!!!!!!! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anti Facts Sir Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 Always wary of those who use the concept of "moral" as a weapon to push through their agenda. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Screamingeagle Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 7 minutes ago, Anti Facts Sir said: Always wary of those who use the concept of "moral" as a weapon to push through their agenda. and safety never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence ! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numnuts Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 4 hours ago, pi3141 said: Probably, they will target this site. Probably, it will be too risky or costly to manage - what if an 'agent' posts an illegal comment and reports it? Agents deliberately posting questionable content? Yeah, I am sure that has never happened before. The 77th Brigade posted plenty of bile on the 'Coronavirus Mega-Thread' in the past. On other threads too of course, but much easier for them to get away with it on a busy thread, which it once was. I always try to report posts, wherever possible, but getting rid of bile that is against the site rules will still leave this forum open to criticism. When it comes to this forum, it's not a case of genuine censors genuinely looking for genuine bile to remove; it's a case of the PTB having already pre-decided that this forum is a foruma non grata, with dodgy censors then being sent in to look for any old excuse to give this forum heat, which would obviously include PTB agents posting questionable content for them to find. As I have often said, 'If you really believe something is bad, then you wouldn't need to try and make it look bad'. And, as Harvey Lacey, in one of his many bedtime tête-à-têtes with Mary Beth, once said of 'the list'... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cemeterycrow Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cemeterycrow Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 The censorship of the internet is planned coordinated and it's going to be happening all over the world. The EU launches an online age verification app. Pilot project in five Member States (including Italy) Quote Brussels – Italy, France, Spain, Greece, and Denmark will be the first five EU countries to test the online age verification app prototype developed and presented today (July 14) by the European Commission. https://www.eunews.it/en/2025/07/14/the-eu-launches-an-online-age-verification-app-pilot-project-in-five-member-states-including-italy/ Age verification is coming to search engines in Australia – with huge implications for privacy and inclusion Quote The way we use the internet in Australia is changing. Soon, it won’t just be social media platforms asking to verify your age. Come December, age verification requirements will also extend to search engines – with significant ramifications. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/23/new-rules-will-radically-change-the-way-we-use-the-internet-in-australia-and-not-just-social-media YouTube brings AI age estimation to US and some users will need to show ID Quote Starting August 13, YouTube will roll out its age estimation model in the US to determine if a user is under 18, regardless of the birthdate tied to their Google account. https://www.dexerto.com/youtube/youtube-brings-age-protections-to-us-and-some-users-will-need-to-show-id-3231708/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cemeterycrow Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anti Facts Sir Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 Now where have I heard that chestnut before? Couldn't have been Anthony Bliar, could it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 (edited) Video description: The UK's Online Safety Act went into effect this week and it has been a massive clusterfuck. Entire forums, websites, communities and essential journalism is being censored. People are being forced to scan their faces to use apps like Spotify and YouTube. Like all of these terrible censorship bills, the Online Safety Act claims that it's about protecting children from the evils of pornographic and “adult” content. But immediately after it went into effect, platforms began classifying nearly all breaking news footage, war coverage, investigative journalism, political protest material and information about reproductive and public health as “explicit” or “harmful" content, thus blocking anyone from under 18 from accessing it. I break down the fallout from the UK's Online Safety Act, what it means for the future of the internet, and what we are facing here in the U.S. if we don't fight back to protect free speech online ASAP. In America, both Democrats and Republicans are completely aligned in ramming age verification laws through Congress, and removing all free speech and anonymity on the Web. Taylor Lorenz 1st August, 2025 Edited August 1 by Piero 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 10 hours ago, cemeterycrow said: What a piece of shit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1velocity7 Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 i had to verify id to log in to coinbase crypto website 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cemeterycrow Posted August 7 Share Posted August 7 EU Revives Plan to Ban Private Messaging Quote The EU is inching toward the biggest peacetime surveillance experiment in its history, with plans to quietly search every private message before you hit send. https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-revives-plan-to-ban-private-messaging Quote The European Union is still wrestling with a controversial plan that would turn private messaging services into surveillance tools. For over three years, talks have stalled over whether providers should be forced to scan every user’s messages for possible illegal material and forward anything suspicious to law enforcement. The European Commission is still pushing for a universal scanning requirement. It's already being done by the AI bots that monitor everything you do and say on your smart devices. So this is just about bringing in a law that gives government access to that data. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cemeterycrow Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 Citizens will be on their best behaviour, because we're constantly recording & reporting everything that's going on A quick Look at his wiki page: Quote Ellison was born on August 17, 1944, in New York City to Florence Spellman, an unwed Jewish mother.[5][6][7][8] His biological father was an Italian-American United States Army Air Corps pilot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Ellison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Alert Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 On 7/31/2025 at 4:45 PM, cemeterycrow said: All of a sudden they are so concerned about children, it reminds me the COVID years and the protect granny mantra. In the meanwhile they supply arms and manpower to up the wars and children are getting killed. What is he going on about "Most children do not go looking for harmful and dangerous and porographic content. Most children have found the content has come to find them". I don't have any parental control settings enabled with my internet at home, my wife, my grandchildren and myself using the computers don't have this type of content finding us. Sounds like the usual flimsy government lies to justify the next phase of the agenda. If he says citizens should stop using VPNs will he compensate citizens if their electronic data is intercepted and used by criminals? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Alert Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 On 8/1/2025 at 8:40 PM, Piero said: Video description: The UK's Online Safety Act went into effect this week and it has been a massive clusterfuck. Entire forums, websites, communities and essential journalism is being censored. People are being forced to scan their faces to use apps like Spotify and YouTube. Like all of these terrible censorship bills, the Online Safety Act claims that it's about protecting children from the evils of pornographic and “adult” content. But immediately after it went into effect, platforms began classifying nearly all breaking news footage, war coverage, investigative journalism, political protest material and information about reproductive and public health as “explicit” or “harmful" content, thus blocking anyone from under 18 from accessing it. I break down the fallout from the UK's Online Safety Act, what it means for the future of the internet, and what we are facing here in the U.S. if we don't fight back to protect free speech online ASAP. In America, both Democrats and Republicans are completely aligned in ramming age verification laws through Congress, and removing all free speech and anonymity on the Web. Taylor Lorenz 1st August, 2025 I expect this site will at some point be forced down the age verification route or UK IPs blocked and so on, especially if there is another scam like in 2020-21. I have already reduced my internet usage and continue to steer clear of smart devices, if it comes to it I will not be uploading any ID or any of that facial age verification scans. If enough people dropped out that would leave a big hole in the security service's data surveillance net, they would be fecked without the easy to get live electronic information. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 1 minute ago, Orange Alert said: I expect this site will at some point be forced down the age verification route or UK IPs blocked and so on, especially if there is another scam like in 2020-21. I have already reduced my internet usage and continue to steer clear of smart devices, if it comes to it I will not be uploading any ID or any of that facial age verification scans. If enough people dropped out that would leave a big hole in the security service's data surveillance net, they would be fecked without the easy to get live electronic information. I had an email from PayPal a few weeks ago saying that if I didn't upload photo ID, my account would be restricted and I wouldn't be able to buy or sell through my account. I said goodbye to PayPal! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Alert Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 6 minutes ago, Piero said: I had an email from PayPal a few weeks ago saying that if I didn't upload photo ID, my account would be restricted and I wouldn't be able to buy or sell through my account. I said goodbye to PayPal! Splendid, well done. I closed down my PayPal account 2 years ago to cut down on my internet footprint, data floating about and doing a little bit not to encourage the corporate giants. This photo ID for accounts etc. will be an easy avenue for the online phishing scammers to trick people to give valuable personal data. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Alert Posted August 9 Share Posted August 9 On 8/1/2025 at 10:11 AM, cemeterycrow said: Will dear old uncle Klaus be subject to total transparency or will he have special elite privileges and remain in the shadows? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Crypto surveillance in the UK From January 1st, 2026, cryptocurrency users in the UK will be required to hand over key personal details to exchanges, wallets, NFT marketplaces, and other crypto service providers — or face a £300 ($408) fine. HMRC says the new rules will help link your crypto activity directly to your tax record. But critics warn this is another step towards full crypto surveillance in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Alert Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 18 hours ago, Piero said: Crypto surveillance in the UK From January 1st, 2026, cryptocurrency users in the UK will be required to hand over key personal details to exchanges, wallets, NFT marketplaces, and other crypto service providers — or face a £300 ($408) fine. HMRC says the new rules will help link your crypto activity directly to your tax record. But critics warn this is another step towards full crypto surveillance in the UK. No privacy on George Orwell Island and with all things the HM Mafia/taxman will take a big chunck off your earnings to keep you down and in your place. Won't those sitting on big profits just move their tax residency to somewhere where they are taxed far lower or not at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piero Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 1 hour ago, Orange Alert said: No privacy on George Orwell Island and with all things the HM Mafia/taxman will take a big chunck off your earnings to keep you down and in your place. Won't those sitting on big profits just move their tax residency to somewhere where they are taxed far lower or not at all? Looks like 2016 is going to be a pivotal year for digital surveillance systems. I'm sure those sitting on big profits will think about moving, but where to? The digital surveillance system is going to be global! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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