UK Online Safety Regulations and impact on Forums
- Thread starter lazy llama
- Start date
-
- Tags
- regulation
I almost wish I hadn't read that article ......It's grotesque. It says the site owners are difficult to track down because they're anonymous and it's based in the US. Presumably their names would appear on WHOIS for a domain name though? Under Ofcom's OSA remit, can they actually shut them down or just fine them?
lazy llama
Well-known member
The WHOIS records just show Cloudflare, as they do for any domain registered with them, e.g. one of mine - gonegeeky.com.
From what I can see, OFCOM can fine them up to £18m, though I suspect US courts wouldn't back any enforcement under First Amendments rights etc.
Being on shared Cloudflare IPs makes them more difficult to block - see the trouble Cloudflare have in Spain where ISPs have been told to block those IPs to prevent La Liga stream piracy.
Last edited:
It will be interesting to see if Ofcom manage to fine/shut down this US based forum then ...........I thought I read somewhere that there was an "understanding" with the US and other countries on the online safety issue - but that might have been before the President changed! Surely the 5th amendment wouldn't apply to "illegal" activity.
I see what you mean. WHOIS for mine just shows the name of the domain provider it's held with. Presumably if Ofcom have legal powers they could ask the domain provider to give the details of the account holder. But if it's a US domain holder they may say Ofcom's powers don't apply - they might have to go to a US court to get the name .......
DM's weren't an issue - I would just turn those off as they weren't used much on that type of site.TBH I think you're overthinking it and causing yourself more grief that is necessary
Here's my approach, not just all recent.....
Register a limited company with Companies House and make the company the owner of the hamster forum, name yourself as a director.
Liability then stops with the company, not you.
Then ensure you've carried out the risk assessment.
Remove any chatrooms if you have any as 'the company' finds them to be high risk.
Implement the add-ons by Ozzy47 detailed in posts 956 and 957 of this thread to monitor DM's
Add the list of Keywords detailed by Mr Lucky within the add-ons.
In your permissions, set the option to not allow images in DMs to all members, ie 'Never'
The above will ensure that you've taken steps to reduce risks associated with DM's
Sit back a relax. Remember OFCOM have bigger fish to fry than a small Hamster owner's forum which has at least taken steps to mitigate risks.
The main risk assessment wasn't the main issue. The issue is the mitigations needed for the Child Risk Assessment. Maybe your site doesn't need a Child Risk Assessment. However, I'm still thinking about it. It's frustrating I can't just get age verification software implemented without it costing a small fortune ongoing. Unless I could find a sponsor for the forum (which I had been in the process of doing but it was hard going because those interested wouldn't fit with the ethos of the members and the site, and those that did fit the ethos either weren't interested or didn't have much money lol
But not easy to find a sponsor once a site is offline ........... So it would mean taking the plunge first and costs upfront.
I suppose rather than "charge" members 30p or 50p to register I could say it was a donation towards sponsorship of animal welfare or something similar - but that still doesn't get past the hassle of signing up, doing a selfie and making a payment.
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
I could well be wrong but I had assumed any court proceedings would be in the UK, so the main issue initially would be about extradition agreements. My understanding is you can extradite either a suspect or, if they have been found guilty, the felon. But it’s all dependent on the cooperation between the two countries.
According to this (which has an incorrect title as it's the second investigation, not the first I think).
"While enforcement is complicated by jurisdictional challenges—particularly as the site is hosted in the United States—the Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to seek court orders to block such platforms from being accessible in the UK."
So maybe they will just block it from the Uk? And leave the US to sort it out themselves .........I don't see how that will stop UK users using it if they use a VPN though.
www.mortons-solicitors.co.uk
"While enforcement is complicated by jurisdictional challenges—particularly as the site is hosted in the United States—the Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to seek court orders to block such platforms from being accessible in the UK."
So maybe they will just block it from the Uk? And leave the US to sort it out themselves .........I don't see how that will stop UK users using it if they use a VPN though.
Ofcom Launches First Investigation Under Online Safety Act: Pro-Suicide Forum Linked to UK Deaths | Mortons Solicitors
Ofcom launches it's first investigation under the Online Safety Act and could instantly throw up complex criminal liability questions.
www.mortons-solicitors.co.uk
There was some kind of agreement between the Uk and the US in October 2024
www.gov.uk
First UK-US online safety agreement pledges closer co-operation to keep children safe online
Statement between the UK and US will bring countries closer on joint priority of creating a safer online world.
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
That could well go out of the window if the new admin want to make a stand and cite free speech. Though how anyone can defend coercing children to commit suicide as covered by the 1st amendment is beyond me so let’s hope not.There was some kind of agreement between the Uk and the US in October 2024
First UK-US online safety agreement pledges closer co-operation to keep children safe online
Statement between the UK and US will bring countries closer on joint priority of creating a safer online world.
"A draft transatlantic trade agreement contains commitments to review enforcement of the Online Safety Act, according to a report on Thursday, amid White House concerns the legislation poses a threat to free speech."
"This week, the Guardian reported that the US state department had challenged Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, over the OSA’s impact on freedom of expression."
But as you say @Mr Lucky surely a site like that is different.
www.theguardian.com
"This week, the Guardian reported that the US state department had challenged Britain’s communications regulator, Ofcom, over the OSA’s impact on freedom of expression."
But as you say @Mr Lucky surely a site like that is different.
Don’t weaken online safety laws for UK-US trade deal, campaigners urge
Child protection charities say watering down Online Safety Act would be an ‘appalling sellout’ by government
lazy llama
Well-known member
Not sure that OFCOM would need to prosecute, they seem to be handed regulatory powers so can impose fines without court involvement; it’s not clear from their website. So they could fine the forum, but how would that fine be enacted?
I doubt the site owner, who the BBC have identified in previous articles, has the money, and it wouldn’t be in the UK; would US accounts be within their reach?
Suzanne O
Well-known member
If it's who i think it is, they need to be fined and prosecuted.
They caused the deaths of people.
chillibear
Well-known member
My understanding was you got fined and you could choose to challenge that by going to court, but the incentive was to accept the fine and save costs. That seems to be how it's summed up in the OnlyFans investigation. Getting the fine paid seems like a low probability. The most likely thing is they will require all the major UK ISPs to block the domain. Although that's of limited effectiveness of course.
chillibear
Well-known member
Might be of interest: Bit Chute, has decided to stop operating in the UK because of the OSA:
https://www.bit chute.com/ukregulation (sorry had to break the URL with a space otherwise it hits the censor filter) Basic IP block as far as I can see.
zappaDPJ
Well-known member
It is dependent on location. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland OFCOM can instruct solicitors to initiate a private prosecution. In Scotland they have to report directly to the Procurator Fiscal who will decide whether or not to proceed.
The OSA also clearly states that OFCOM may take legal action regardless of location but that would almost certainly depend on cooperation from regulatory bodies in other territories.