Online Safety Act Network
@osanetwork.bsky.social
Updates, commentary and analysis on the implementation of the UK's #OnlineSafetyAct www.onlinesafetyact.net
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🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ...
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
Mothers say AI chatbots encouraged their sons to kill themselves - BBC News
In her first UK interview Megan Garcia speaks to Laura Kuenssberg about the death of her teenage son.
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org
November 9, 2025 at 10:29 AM
As Prof Lorna Woods tells @bbclaurak.bsky.social in her piece on risks of #ai #chatbots, the #onlinesafetyact is "clear but doesn't match the market ...
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
the problem is it doesn't catch all services where users engage with a chatbot one-to-one." 1/2 ⬇️
www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.bbc....
Good to see the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee pushing TikTok on the impact on #onlinesafety of its plans to make 100s of Trust and Safety staff redundant. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
Science Committee asks TikTok for clarity about how it will keep users safe online if it slashes Trust and Safety staff - Committees - UK Parliament
Correspondence: TikTok Trust & Safety Team reduction and online safety
committees.parliament.uk
October 30, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Good to see the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee pushing TikTok on the impact on #onlinesafety of its plans to make 100s of Trust and Safety staff redundant. committees.parliament.uk/committee/13...
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two, and so are we.
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
October 27, 2025 at 12:33 PM
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two, and so are we.
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎁 Here's the latest edition of our #onlinesafety newsletter, which has been hitting inboxes nearly every second Monday since we started.
✏️ Do sign up, if you haven't already, to receive it direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/581367f72801...
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
October 24, 2025 at 8:21 AM
🎂 The #onlinesafetyact is two years' old this weekend.
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🎁 Here's a look at the highs, the lows, the missed opportunities and the homes for the future. www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/the...
🆕 We've published our cross-cutting analysis of Ofcom's #onlinesafetyact Additional Safety Measures, with more detail on the individual measures to come from us before the consultation closes next Monday (20th). ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...
www.onlinesafetyact.net
October 15, 2025 at 6:55 AM
🆕 We've published our cross-cutting analysis of Ofcom's #onlinesafetyact Additional Safety Measures, with more detail on the individual measures to come from us before the consultation closes next Monday (20th). ⬇️ www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/ofc...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
🚨 NEW: OpenAI’s new “safer” version of ChatGPT actually allows more harm.
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
October 14, 2025 at 4:09 PM
🚨 NEW: OpenAI’s new “safer” version of ChatGPT actually allows more harm.
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
TW: Suicide, self-harm, substance abuse & eating disorders
We tested ChatGPT-5 and found that the new AI model that uses “safe completions” fails to reduce safety risks to users ⤵️
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
"Similar to" but importantly not identical. Meta is drafting off the higher trust that people have in movie ratings to suggest that Instagram is as safe for a 13-year-old as seeing Superman. But movies aren't social media and Meta isn't even publishing its actual revised content policies
Instagram unveils updates to overhaul the app for teen users, including age-gating inappropriate content, in a bid to make its content similar to PG-13 movies (David Ingram/NBC News)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
October 14, 2025 at 5:25 PM
"Similar to" but importantly not identical. Meta is drafting off the higher trust that people have in movie ratings to suggest that Instagram is as safe for a 13-year-old as seeing Superman. But movies aren't social media and Meta isn't even publishing its actual revised content policies
❓ The Lords' Communications and Digital Committee are asking "how is @ofcom.bsky.social implementing the #onlinesafetyact?" this afternoon: Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes & Online Safety Strategy Director Mark Bunting will be responding. Starts at 230pm. committees.parliament.uk/event/25195/...
14 October 2025 - Ofcom leadership - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament
14:00 - Room 2, Palace of Westminster
committees.parliament.uk
October 14, 2025 at 11:09 AM
❓ The Lords' Communications and Digital Committee are asking "how is @ofcom.bsky.social implementing the #onlinesafetyact?" this afternoon: Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes & Online Safety Strategy Director Mark Bunting will be responding. Starts at 230pm. committees.parliament.uk/event/25195/...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
📢 TikTok slashing Trust & Safety staff in the UK is a threat to online safety.
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
TikTok accused of ‘sacrificing online safety’ amid AI-driven job cuts
Unions and online safety campaigners have called on MPs to investigate the impact of the cuts on online safety in the UK
www.the-independent.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
📢 TikTok slashing Trust & Safety staff in the UK is a threat to online safety.
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Today, CCDH & other leading organisations are urging MP @chionwurah.bsky.social, Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, to investigate the impact of TikTok's decision.
More in @the-independent.com ⤵️
Update from @ofcom.bsky.social on its #onlinesafetyact investigations and related enforcement activity. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
Ofcom issues update on Online Safety Act investigations
Ofcom has today provided an update on our enforcement activity under the Online Safety Act.
www.ofcom.org.uk
October 13, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Update from @ofcom.bsky.social on its #onlinesafetyact investigations and related enforcement activity. ⬇️ www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
🆕 Our latest #onlinesafety newsletter is out today. Parliament may have been on recess but it's hardly been quiet elsewhere. Catch up with all the latest news, research and commentary below and don't forget to subscribe to receive the next one direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
October 13, 2025 at 7:54 AM
🆕 Our latest #onlinesafety newsletter is out today. Parliament may have been on recess but it's hardly been quiet elsewhere. Catch up with all the latest news, research and commentary below and don't forget to subscribe to receive the next one direct. ⬇️
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
mailchi.mp/51eb43a1895c...
We're pleased to sign the open letter reported by @theguardian.com today calling for an investigation into the proposed content moderator job cuts at #TikTok ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
UK MPs urged to investigate TikTok’s plans to cut 439 content moderator jobs
Trade unions and online safety experts sign letter warning jobs losses could expose children to harmful content
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 6:29 AM
We're pleased to sign the open letter reported by @theguardian.com today calling for an investigation into the proposed content moderator job cuts at #TikTok ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
🚨 NEW analysis from our expert legal adviser Prof Lorna Woods OBE on the use by @ofcom.bsky.social of a "technically feasible" proviso in many of its #onlinesafetyact code measures and recommendations on how to reduce its potential impact on user safety. 👇 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/req...
Requirements for OSA codes measures: technical feasibility and proportionality
- Online Safety Act
www.onlinesafetyact.net
October 6, 2025 at 10:35 AM
🚨 NEW analysis from our expert legal adviser Prof Lorna Woods OBE on the use by @ofcom.bsky.social of a "technically feasible" proviso in many of its #onlinesafetyact code measures and recommendations on how to reduce its potential impact on user safety. 👇 1/2 www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/req...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Do you know what would be good news for fact checkers? Anyone who fancied going to the @fullfact.org website (the people who wrote the widely used fact check cited by lots of people here) and clicking the donate button. We are a tiny charity and your support helps.
fullfact.org/technology/d...
fullfact.org/technology/d...
October 5, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Do you know what would be good news for fact checkers? Anyone who fancied going to the @fullfact.org website (the people who wrote the widely used fact check cited by lots of people here) and clicking the donate button. We are a tiny charity and your support helps.
fullfact.org/technology/d...
fullfact.org/technology/d...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Morning! Society for Hopeful Technologists newsletter #2 is arriving in inboxes now. A little bit on Musk and X, much more about future plans + organising buttondown.com/society-of-h... and great to have a group of fellow organisers coming together 💪
#2: Hopeful Actions
What's next for the Society for Hopeful Technologists: events, principles, and opportunities to get involved.
buttondown.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Morning! Society for Hopeful Technologists newsletter #2 is arriving in inboxes now. A little bit on Musk and X, much more about future plans + organising buttondown.com/society-of-h... and great to have a group of fellow organisers coming together 💪
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
September 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Elon Musk has shared an obviously AI-generated image of the Unite the Kingdom rally in London.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
The first AI error is that the Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, not London. And once you zoom in, you'll notice that the Union Jacks and the crowd have other errors typical of AI images.
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into AI chatbots and their impact on children. The agency issued orders to seven companies asking them for details on their products, including how they “evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions.”
FTC Opens Inquiry Into AI Chatbots and Their Impact on Children | TechPolicy.Press
FTC opens probe into the risks of AI chatbots for kids and teens.
www.techpolicy.press
September 12, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into AI chatbots and their impact on children. The agency issued orders to seven companies asking them for details on their products, including how they “evaluate the safety of their chatbots when acting as companions.”
🚨 New @ofcom #onlinesafetyact consultation launched today on the draft guidance for super-complaints
✍ Deadline for responses: 3 November
👉 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
✍ Deadline for responses: 3 November
👉 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
Consultation: Draft guidance for super-complaints under the Online Safety Act 2023
The purpose of super-complaints is to allow such organisations to bring robust evidence and facts to our attention about the most significant online harms and restrictions on free expression arising o...
www.ofcom.org.uk
September 8, 2025 at 5:34 PM
🚨 New @ofcom #onlinesafetyact consultation launched today on the draft guidance for super-complaints
✍ Deadline for responses: 3 November
👉 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
✍ Deadline for responses: 3 November
👉 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
DSIT reshuffle:
- Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as SoS
- Ian Murray, ex-Scot Sec, replaces Chris Bryant at DSIT & DCMS (Bryant follows Kyle to DBT)
- Kanishka Naryan new junior minister
- Vallance stays, added role at DESNZ
- Feryal Clark, Baroness Jones leave govt
www.gov.uk/government/n...
- Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as SoS
- Ian Murray, ex-Scot Sec, replaces Chris Bryant at DSIT & DCMS (Bryant follows Kyle to DBT)
- Kanishka Naryan new junior minister
- Vallance stays, added role at DESNZ
- Feryal Clark, Baroness Jones leave govt
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Ministerial appointments: September 2025
The King has been pleased to approve the following appointments.
www.gov.uk
September 7, 2025 at 2:43 PM
DSIT reshuffle:
- Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as SoS
- Ian Murray, ex-Scot Sec, replaces Chris Bryant at DSIT & DCMS (Bryant follows Kyle to DBT)
- Kanishka Naryan new junior minister
- Vallance stays, added role at DESNZ
- Feryal Clark, Baroness Jones leave govt
www.gov.uk/government/n...
- Liz Kendall replaces Peter Kyle as SoS
- Ian Murray, ex-Scot Sec, replaces Chris Bryant at DSIT & DCMS (Bryant follows Kyle to DBT)
- Kanishka Naryan new junior minister
- Vallance stays, added role at DESNZ
- Feryal Clark, Baroness Jones leave govt
www.gov.uk/government/n...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
The UK is leading the world in addressing online safety.
The Online Safety Act holds social media companies accountable & protects kids from harms.
We should be working to strengthen the OSA, not scrap it. Read our new blog to learn more ⤵️
The Online Safety Act holds social media companies accountable & protects kids from harms.
We should be working to strengthen the OSA, not scrap it. Read our new blog to learn more ⤵️
Defending the UK Online Safety Act — Center for Countering Digital Hate | CCDH
Responding to false attacks in the US: The UK's Online Safety Act is a vital, evidence-based law designed to hold tech companies accountable.
counterhate.com
September 5, 2025 at 3:05 PM
The UK is leading the world in addressing online safety.
The Online Safety Act holds social media companies accountable & protects kids from harms.
We should be working to strengthen the OSA, not scrap it. Read our new blog to learn more ⤵️
The Online Safety Act holds social media companies accountable & protects kids from harms.
We should be working to strengthen the OSA, not scrap it. Read our new blog to learn more ⤵️
This. ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact
👀 Jim Jordan held a House Judiciary Committee hearing on . . . how Europe censors Americans. Nigel Farage came along! Let's just say I have a slightly different view than them. My written and oral testimony are here: ijclinic.law.uci.edu/2025/09/03/h...
Here are my concluding paras:
Here are my concluding paras:
September 4, 2025 at 6:30 PM
This. ⬇️ #onlinesafetyact
Officials from @ofcom.bsky.social gave evidence yesterday to the Speaker's Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections, with the discussion focusing on implementation and enforcement of the #OnlineSafetyAct - you can watch the session back here.⬇️ www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
Parliamentlive.tv
Speaker's Conference (2024)
www.parliamentlive.tv
September 4, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Officials from @ofcom.bsky.social gave evidence yesterday to the Speaker's Conference on the security of candidates, MPs and elections, with the discussion focusing on implementation and enforcement of the #OnlineSafetyAct - you can watch the session back here.⬇️ www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/...
The US House Judiciary Committee has been taking testimony from Nigel Farage and others this afternoon in a discussion on "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation."
We've taken a look at some of the claims made about the #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/fac...
We've taken a look at some of the claims made about the #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/fac...
September 3, 2025 at 5:29 PM
The US House Judiciary Committee has been taking testimony from Nigel Farage and others this afternoon in a discussion on "Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation."
We've taken a look at some of the claims made about the #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/fac...
We've taken a look at some of the claims made about the #onlinesafetyact ⬇️
www.onlinesafetyact.net/analysis/fac...
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
"You can say what you like, I don’t care, because that’s what free speech is," Nigel Farage has just told the House Judiciary Committee, about three hours after his party banned me from covering its conference this weekend.
Nigel Farage is about to give evidence to the US Congress on threats to free speech in the UK.
So here's one for him: Reform UK has just banned me (and @thenewworldmag.bsky.social) from attending its party conference this weekend. www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-w...
So here's one for him: Reform UK has just banned me (and @thenewworldmag.bsky.social) from attending its party conference this weekend. www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-w...
Chicken Farage bans The New World
It claims to be the party of free speech, but this last-minute decision to stop me attending tells a very different story
www.thenewworld.co.uk
September 3, 2025 at 2:44 PM
"You can say what you like, I don’t care, because that’s what free speech is," Nigel Farage has just told the House Judiciary Committee, about three hours after his party banned me from covering its conference this weekend.
Reposted by Online Safety Act Network
This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social
I also joined 30+ EU and US scholars on the DSA in letter debunking Jim Jordan's claims that the Digital Services Act is a censorship law (it's content neutral) and that it censors US speech (it applies only inside the EU) husovec.eu/wp-content/u...
husovec.eu
September 3, 2025 at 3:05 PM
This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social