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Alec is a technologist, writer & security consultant who has worked in host and network security for more than 30 years, with 25 of those in industry.
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“Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users” | Bluesky blocks Mississippi

2025-08-23 07:29:56

I’m not in favour of “proactive shunning” but when a platform’s entire service for their entire user base is put at risk by government demands for identity or age verification… switch it off:

While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users. While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.

Bluesky (@bsky.app) 2025-08-22T19:54:29.473Z

Ofcom is turning the UK into an international laughing stock | CapX

2025-08-22 20:10:36

[Ofcom’s comments] portray the UK in a more sinister light … the country where we live comes across as as a would-be bully, that thinks nothing of ordering foreigners around in their own country … a country that wishes to place all sorts of restrictions on internet speech, and at times to set up a kind of Great British Firewall; it will not have been lost on US websites that in the last resort it has the power to UK ISPs to block foreign sites that do not do as it says.

https://capx.co/the-online-safety-act-is-a-disaster

4chan will refuse to pay daily UK fines, its lawyer tells BBC | BBC News

2025-08-22 19:09:33

4Chan has a… mixed reputation, but this is a lesson that both Ofcom & UK legislators need to learn: in a global environment some jurisdictions exist beyond the bounds of parliamentary control:

“Ofcom’s notices create no legal obligations in the United States,” he told the BBC, adding he believed the regulator’s investigation was part of an “illegal campaign of harassment” against US tech firms.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq68j5g2nr1o

EFF: UK Online Safety Act is about censorship, not safety | The Register

2025-08-22 00:46:40

The UK’s scramble to find an effective age verification method underscores that there isn’t one, and it’s high time for politicians around the world to take that seriously – especially those pondering similar laws in the US Rather than weakening rights for already vulnerable communities online, governments everywhere must acknowledge these shortcomings and explore less invasive approaches – such as comprehensive privacy legislation – to protect all people from online harms, especially as authoritarianism spreads around the globe. 

https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/21/the_uk_online_safety_act/

Bloomberg: “Tulsi Gabbard’s ‘Win’ for Apple Isn’t That Simple” | Parmy Olson

2025-08-21 21:52:38

The Home Office will likely drop its order under US pressure, but we won’t know for sure until Apple uses its next appearance before a judge to say its case is invalid. That would be an unfortunate outcome for a fight that should have played out publicly in court, and could have put an end to such intrusive surveillance powers for everyone else. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-08-21/tulsi-gabbard-s-win-for-apple-encryption-in-uk-has-a-downside archived at https://archive.ph/dehRf

I don’t wanna rain on the parade but it’s entirely possible that the UK Government vs: APPLE iCloud BACKDOOR STORY IS STILL A THING

2025-08-21 21:21:43

Reuters phrases it this way:

Britain has dropped its demand for the iPhone maker Apple to provide a “backdoor” that would have enabled access to the protected encrypted data of American citizens

…which does not say anything about not-backdooring British citizens.

We should watch carefully whether Apple resurrects ADP in the UK.