Rick's b.log - entry 2025/02/06

The UK Online Safety Act

There is a report about this in TheRegister, and pay attention to the two updates. While it may be that comments on a blog like this are exempt, as would be logical - especially given as you can't post hyperlinks or images here - after being contacted twice, Ofcom were incapable of actually answering the question posed, instead reiterating "Content will be exempt if it comprises comments or reviews 'relating to' provider content.

So, it looks as if comments on my blog will be okay if you reply with comments that are exactly to do with whatever the topic being discussed is... but if you don't then that brings the service outside of the scope of the exemption and, really, fuck off Ofcom. This is stupid. And making people potentially liable (for £18M or 10% of global revenue, whichever is higher) because somebody strays off topic in a comment on a blog that is rarely on any topic itself... come on, this is stupid. And, I would imagine, will cause numerous online casualties while doing nothing about child sex abuse content. This is the "nuke it from space" option - and note that Aliens was followed by sequels, so nuking from space didn't really fix anything. Neither will this idiotic piece of legislation.

As such, I have three choices. Choice one is to close commenting. Why should I do that because the UK Government are dickheads?
Choice two is to geoblock the UK. Unfortunately IP addresses shift and change and IPv6 complicates matters greatly. Setting up geoblocking would require a service to vet and verify every IP and that's not free and why should I pay because the UK Government are dickheads?

So I chose a third option. In order to post a comment here, you must tick a little box (that is not pre-ticked) to verify that you are not a UK resident. There is, of course, nothing to stop you doing that if you are in fact a UK resident (just like those silly "Click to verify you are over 18" buttons), but do note that the itty-bitty text states that if you are a UK resident, then you agree to indemnify me, the person maintaining my site, and the hosting provider in case Ofcom should cast their eye in this direction. My blog comment system sends me an email with the time, your IP address, and that you ticked the box... along with the content of your comment.

Yes, this is an utterly stupid situation. I fully agree with tackling sex abuse content - not just children, everybody, but especially with a pair of blunt and rusty garden shears to the balls of those bastards who are involved in sexual abuse of children . . . but laws as broad and vague as this aren't helpful.
What does it matter if you post a comment below asking "Hey, Rick, is it snowing?"? That doesn't suddenly make disgusting material appear. But, then, I can only imagine that the people who wrote this law were lawyers and politicians and I'd imagine exactly none of them use anything more complicated than a web browser and Microsoft Office so don't actually know much about how this sort of stuff actually works. Oh, and note that the government make a specific exemption for themselves. Wonderful, huh? They don't have to comply (effectively above the law), everybody else risks being liable.

If you think this sucks, please, contact your local MP, especially if they're not Tory (it was started by Theresa May and signed into law by the King on behalf of the Sunak government - which may be why it's broad and confusing).

But, really, don't hold your breath. The Tories are scum, Labour is too busy applying Elastoplast to everything while mumbling incoherently about growth (while failing to realise that crap like this is an impediment to growth), and none of the other parties are powerful enough to change anything.

Most of all, please be aware that I absolutely do not agree with this bullshit. My site is hosted in the UK, I'm a UK citizen (living in France), and Brits are my most regular commenters. This whole situation is stupid.

I'll happily undo this when there is actual clarification rather than wishy-washy waving of hands that means, well, nothing.

Pasta

Last week I bought several packs of pasta to restock, so here's my pasta selection. Just looking at this gives me pleasure.

My pasta jars.

They were doing a special of a third off of the bronze pasta (really, what's the chance of that happening just after I discover bronze pasta?), so of course I got some.

Several packs of linguine and two packs of penne rigate.

Last night I cooked farfalle and penne, and since I have to wind down what's in the freezer, I threw in a load of broccoli and garden peas, and mixed in grated cheddar. It was lovely, but I think I might have over-broccoli'd myself. My tummy was a bit wobbly-feeling this morning. ☺

Broccoli, peas, and pasta.

Your comments:

Please note that while I check this page every so often, I am not able to control what users write; therefore I disclaim all liability for unpleasant and/or infringing and/or defamatory material. Undesired content will be removed as soon as it is noticed. By leaving a comment, you agree not to post material that is illegal or in bad taste, and you should be aware that the time and your IP address are both recorded, should it be necessary to find out who you are. Oh, and don't bother trying to inline HTML. I'm not that stupid! ☺
As of February 2025, commenting is no longer available to UK residents, following the implementation of the vague and overly broad Online Safety Act. You must tick the box below to verify that you are not a UK resident, and you expressly agree if you are in fact a UK resident that you will indemnify me (Richard Murray), as well as the person maintaining my site (Rob O'Donnell), the hosting providers, and so on. It's a shitty law, complain to your MP.
It's not that I don't want to hear from my British friends, it's because your country makes stupid laws.
 
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Related content... , 6th February 2025, 23:55

The Register → Why UK Online Safety Act may not be safe for bloggers is relevant, particularly the added updates. I'd definitely recommend following Neil Brown as he's a lawyer digging into this a lot.    I agree it's a total minefield...

Rick, 8th February 2025, 20:24

I've linkified your link (and tweaked the text to not screw up page formatting). It's the same one as in the article. 😉    I have also amended the text regarding UK citizens to include "It's not that I don't want to hear from my British friends, it's because your country makes stupid laws.", with the last five words linking to this blog entry.    I need a banging head on wall emoji. The best I can do is 🤕 which is the aftermath.

Related. , 8th February 2025, 20:47

Thanks. I guess I should have clicked your link.. Got mine from a thread elsewhere, so didn't realise they were the same one. Doh!  It all boils down to "the government wanted to stick it to the lines of Facebook and musk, and had no comprehension that individuals would run their own services." The Q&A the other day with ofcom threw up an example of a "small service with only 15,000 users".. They just have no clue. No wonder so many people are saying they'll just geoblocked UK IPs, because just the paperwork to say your site is of no risk is onerous.

jgh, 10th February 2025, 07:01

It's such a brain-dead mindset in UK policital and governmental circles. Small entities doing stuff? Yerwot? It's that same as the perception of employment. Shirely everybody either works for a local council with 15,000 employees, or a big factory with thousands of employees, or the civil services with 150,000 employees, or the NHS with 15,000,000 employees. What? You're not *employed* by *somebody else*? How *DARE* you not be an *employee*, how *dare* you be a sole trader. You run a website? Shirely you have a turnover in the millions. Wot, you're one person? People don't pay you? Does no compute. *Somebody* must be paying you.    Ok, I still have my Hong Kong resident's card, so clicky clicky...

Rick, 10th February 2025, 08:45

> I still have my Hong Kong resident's card    😂👍

A tree-dwelling mammal, 12th February 2025, 11:32

Ok, you got me. I'm not actually a UK resident. I'm visiting Earth for research into a new book, and I'm originally from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.    Anyway, I digress. Rick - Bronze-die pasta... how come it's taken you this long to discover it? Does this mean you're now a fully-fledged Pastafarian?

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