Hacker News with Generative AI: Online Safety

UK Online Safety Act template for Fediverse instances (onlinesafetyact.co.uk)
Again, a major change: I am not confident a conclusion that my own, personal, self-hosted, Mastodon instance is out of scope of the OSA.
UK Online Safety Act comes into force today (ofcom.org.uk)
From today, online platforms must start putting in place measures to protect people in the UK from criminal activity, while Ofcom has launched its latest enforcement programme to assess industry compliance.
Meta is trying to offload kids safety onto app stores with new bills says Google (theverge.com)
Google has its own ideas about what kids online safety legislation should look like.
Google's legislative proposal for keeping kids safe online (google)
Legislation pushed by Meta would share kids' information with millions of developers without parental consent or rules on how it's used; we have a better way.
Age Verification Laws: A Backdoor to Surveillance (eff.org)
I’m old enough to remember when age verification bills were pitched as a way to ‘save the kids from porn’ and shield them from other vague dangers lurking in the digital world (like…“the transgender”). We have long cautioned about the dangers of these laws, and pointed out why they are likely to fail. While they may be well-intentioned, the growing proliferation of age verification schemes poses serious risks to all of our digital freedoms.
Ninth Circuit Rules That Dating App Isn't Liable for Matching Users (eff.org)
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit correctly held that Grindr, a popular dating app, can’t be held responsible for matching users and enabling them to exchange messages that led to real-world harm.
Lobsters blocking UK users because of the Online Safety Act (lobste.rs)
In memoriam (onlinesafetyact.co.uk)
The following sites and services have stated that the Online Safety Act 2023 is the reason for their closing, or for geo-blocking UK users.
Forum with 2.6M posts being deleted due to UK Online Safety Act (hexus.net)
With the impeding full implementation of the 2023 online safety act, it looks like HEXUS forums will have to close, or at least downgrade to read only.
Why UK Online Safety Act may not be safe for bloggers (theregister.com)
Individual publishers could be held liable for visitors' off-topic posts, legal eagle argues
How to Comply with the UK's Online Safety Act; Block the UK (geoblockthe.uk)
The UK's Online Safety Act requires operators of "user to user services" to read through hundreds (if not thousands) of pages of documentation to attempt to craft "meaningful" risk assessments and 'child access assessments' or face £18,000,000 fines, even imprisonment.
Do big tech companies have a 'duty of care' for users? (theconversation.com)
Large social media companies should have to proactively remove harmful content from their platforms, undergo regular “risk assessments” and face hefty fines if they don’t comply, according to an independent review of online safety laws in Australia.
UK Users: Lobsters Needs Your Help with the Online Safety Act (lobste.rs)
The UK’s Online Safety Act is scheduled to take effect on March 16, 2025. Lobsters can’t comply with it and needs your help to avoid having to geoblock the UK.
Websites hosting pornographic content must have age verification for UK users (news.sky.com)
Websites that host pornographic or other harmful content must have "robust" age verification in place for UK users by July at the latest, Ofcom has said.
Lobste.rs considers geoblocking UK due to Online Safety Act (lobste.rs)
The UK’s Online Safety Act is scheduled to take effect on March 16, 2025. Lobsters can’t comply with it and needs your help to avoid having to geoblock the UK.
Death of a Forum: How the UK's Online Safety Act Is Killing Communities (techdirt.com)
We’ve been warning for years that the UK’s Online Safety Act would be a disaster for the open internet.
Lfgss shutting down 16th March 2025 (day before Online Safety Act is enforced) (lfgss.com)
UK's Online Safety Act comes into force (ofcom.org.uk)
People in the UK will be better protected from illegal harms online, as tech firms are now legally required to start taking action to tackle criminal activity on their platforms, and make them safer by design.
Last-Minute Update to the Kids Online Safety Act Still Fails to Protect Kids (eff.org)
Late last week, the Senate released yet another version of the Kids Online Safety Act, written, reportedly, with the assistance of X CEO Linda Yaccarino in a flawed attempt to address the critical free speech issues inherent in the bill.
Chatbots urged teen to self-harm, suggested murdering parents, lawsuit says (arstechnica.com)
Parents suing want Character.AI to delete its models trained on kids' data.
"AI pimping" accounts are exploding on social media (marketplace.org)
People behind the accounts paste AI-generated faces on the bodies of real women. There too many to track, says 404 Media's Jason Koebler.
Telegram U-turns and joins child safety scheme (bbc.com)
After years of ignoring pleas to sign up to child protection schemes, the controversial messaging app Telegram has agreed to work with an internationally recognised body to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
What can we learn from the Andrew Tate data breach? (archive.org)
What can we learn from theAndrew Tate data breach?
Australian Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 (aph.gov.au)
Now Online Safety Act is law, UK has 'priorities' but won't explain 'spy clause' (theregister.com)
The UK government has set out plans detailing how it will use the new law it has created to control online platforms and social media – with one telling exception.
Social media ban for children under 16 is introduced in Australia's Parliament (apnews.com)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s communications minister introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children under 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges.
Show HN: I made a scam detector and build a public database for it (antiphish.ai)
Since our founding, we've been dedicated to securing your online experience. Join the community of long-time users who trust us with their protection.
Orban moving fast: Endorsement of ChatControl on the agenda for Wednesday (digitalcourage.social)
How to stop advertisers from tracking your teen across the internet (eff.org)
CSAM content on Bluesky has risen ten times in just a week (bsky.app)