The US government is launching a web portal allowing Europeans to bypass internet firewalls going up around the continent. The UK is leading the charge when it comes to egregious online censorship…
“Freedom.gov” will be the web address. It may include a Virtual Private Network service. Starmer is currently trying to ban them…
Reuters reports it was meant to go public at the Munich Security Conference but has been delayed. Internal legal disputes reportedly could further delay its launch. A State Department official insisted it would go ahead: “Digital freedom is a priority for the State Department… and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship-circumvention technologies like VPNs.” British citizens are once again faced with a bizarre situation in which the US government cares more for their right to free expression than their own…
Labour is planning to ban Virtual Private Networks for children after insisting it would not do so. What number U-turn is that?
Back when the Online Safety Act first came in Guido exclusively reported on Labour’s support for action against VPN usage. The party supported Sarah Champion’s proposals to look at curbing their use if, after the OSA was introduced, people were circumventing the age verification firewall. Exactly what has happened – every outlet was very keen to run the government’s denial of this at the time…
Peter Kyle claimed in July last year that the government was “not considering a VPN ban” because there are “far more people who are actually there to prove their age in a legitimate way.” This was written up as Labour ‘ruling out’ a ban…
The position now, as per Starmer’s Substack: “Limiting VPN access for kids: to make it harder for kids to get around age limits of services or certain functionalities.”
That’s now been U-turned on. VPNs are crucial for internet security – Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo points out that an age threshold is effectively a ban on usage. Is Starmer going to start giving his speeches in Mandarin, too?
New data shows that internet and communications regulator Ofcom has almost tripled the amount it spends on monitoring public use of Virtual Private Networks. Vital tools for circumventing the excesses of the draconian Online Safety Act…
A Freedom of Information response reveals Ofcom has spent almost £500,000 on monitoring how many people use VPNs since 2022. Spending has more than doubled in the lead up to and implementation of the OSA:
Such data would be vital to any government attempting to justify a crackdown on the software, which digital campaigners the Open Rights Group say are “an important cybersecurity tool for businesses, politicians, journalists and members of the public.” Government guidance has long recommended using them…
In 2022 Labour supported an amendment to the Online Safety Act which would “require the Secretary of State to publish, within six months of the Bill’s passage, a report on the effect of VPN use on Ofcom’s ability to enforce the requirements under clause 112. If VPNs cause significant issues, the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems.” A crackdown…
Ofcom says of its monitoring effort: “The work was undertaken to analyse the impact of the introduction of age assurance online. This is foundational work to assessing compliance, the efficacy of age assurance and to understanding the impacts on users’ safety online.” I.e. it wants to make sure VPN use doesn’t get too high – more regulation to follow…
Preston Byrne joined Adam Cherry on the Guido Fawkes Show this week to explain how he is taking on the Ofcom bullies over their abuse of the Online Safety Act. Byrne is representing 4chan in their fight against Ofcom in the US courts after the regulator tried whacking the site with a £20,000 fine earlier this year. As Guido reported yesterday, 4chan has retaliated with a lawsuit of its own…
Byrne also reveals how he and his colleagues have filed a bill in the state of Wyoming to build a ‘pro-free speech Death Star’ piece of legislation to stop the likes of Ofcom playing these games again. Read the draft bill here. Ofcom are still claiming they have ‘sovereign immunity’ in this fight. Byrne isn’t having it. Watch for yourselves…
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Ofcom has whacked US-based 4chan with a £20,000 fine for failing to respond to the watchdog’s request for its “illegal harms risk assessment” in compliance with the new Online Safety Act. The first fine of its kind since the Act was introduced…
The internet sheriff has told 4chan it will also start charging £100 per day from tomorrow:
“The provider of 4chan has not responded to our request for a copy of its illegal harms risk assessment, nor a second request relating to its qualifying worldwide revenue. As a result, Ofcom has fined 4chan £20,000. We will also impose a daily penalty of £100 per day, starting from tomorrow, for either 60 days or until 4chan provides us with this information, whichever is sooner.”
Ofcom’s Director of Enforcement Suzanne Cater today warned the fine “sends a clear message” that anyone violating the act can expect the same treatment. Preston Byrne, a lawyer representing 4chan, said the company isn’t taking this lying down…
“…4chan’s constitutional rights remain completely unaffected by this foreign e-mail. 4chan will obey UK censorship laws when pigs fly. In the meantime, there’s litigation pending in DC. Ofcom hasn’t yet answered. We’ll see Ofcom in court.”
This isn’t over yet…
State regulator Ofcom has spent more than £1 million advertising the Online Safety Act since early last year. £1,137,752.58 to be precise…
Ofcom, which is funded by fees paid by regulated companies and from the retention of Wireless Telegraphy Act receipts, said the advertising is used to explain “to UK adults and children how our safety measures protect them.” £244,234.40 was spent in June alone, the month prior to the activation of internet regulation imposed by the Online Safety Act…
Ofcom describes its advertising activity:
£171,100 has been spent on influencer promotions since February last year. The regulator reports that this “campaign generated around seven million views on Instagram alone. For context, Ofcom’s own Instagram channel has fewer than 10,000 followers.” Can’t polish a…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”