Is Acorn concerned about the Online Safety Act?

[Edwin]

Was wondering how Acorn admins were planning to approach the Online Safety Act? It seems a lot of forums are shutting down ahead of the mid-March deadline.

As far as I can see, the new law is a classic example of overreach by people who don't understand how the internet works. There are very few exceptions, and the consequences of not complying are huge, including potentially multi-million fines. But whether it's well-drafted or terrible, it's coming... and soon.

There's more info in this Register news report...

The UK's Online Safety Act applies to Small Tech too

That niche forum running for 20 years – get ready, there's work to do

www.theregister.com

There's also a monster thread on a cycling forum that digs into the problem in great detail...

LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced) | LFGSS

www.lfgss.com

 

[Edwin]

Sorry, don't know what happened to the second URL. I'll try again below.

LFGSS and Microcosm shutting down 16th March 2025 (the day before the Online Safety Act is enforced) | LFGSS

www.lfgss.com

 

[ukbackorder]

Madness. Another wave of UK bureaucracy intended to fill the coffers and tell people what they can and can't say by the looks of it. I guess it's not surprising considering how bad the UK has become recently.

 

[Helmuts]

Good evening @Edwin, we introduced tougher laws on insults some time ago (those who didn't like it - left), as part of efforts to improve the well-being of our members (mostly UK individuals). I understand, that this legislation focuses on safeguarding people, particularly and especially children, from harmful online content.

As a platform, we do not provide or host illegal content. Additionally, children are not part of our audience, which is an especially important consideration under this law and related regulations. Content on our platform is moderated to the best of our ability, though it would be nice to have few moderators helping with this.

This is a legitimate business forum where members behave in a civilized, polite, and respectful manner. I believe this aligns with the values and expectations set forth by the legislation.

So, it's business as usual - polite, professional, and focused on fostering a positive environment.

Enjoy the Acorn community!

.. and keep an eye on the auctions feeds - we are working on something AMAZING - you will all love it!

Helmuts

 

[Edwin]

Thanks for your detailed reply. From what I've read of the issue, the steps you've mentioned aren't sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Act. It's an extraordinarily broad and overbearing legal framework, like using a net the width of the ocean to catch a couple of fish. So it will inevitably snare many, many, many legitimate communities.

For instance, you almost certainly need to complete a lengthy formal risk assessment process.

It's probably worth setting aside a little time to read through the two links I posted, just to be sure of what you're doing.

Here's even more information on the topic...

Online Safety Act Notes for Small Sites — Russ Garrett

 

[Helmuts]

Thanks for your detailed reply. From what I've read of the issue, the steps you've mentioned aren't sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Act. It's an extraordinarily broad and overbearing legal framework, like using a net the width of the ocean to catch a couple of fish. So it will inevitably snare many, many, many legitimate communities.

For instance, you almost certainly need to complete a lengthy formal risk assessment process.

It's probably worth setting aside a little time to read through the two links I posted, just to be sure of what you're doing.

Here's even more information on the topic...

Online Safety Act Notes for Small Sites — Russ Garrett

hmm... thank you @Edwin! Will definetelly look into this!

 

[Adam H]

THere is already discussions on this at Xenforo ( the software this forum uses )

UK Online Safety Regulations and impact on Forums

The UK regulator OFCOM yesterday announced a set of regulations which will come into effect on 17th March 2025 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/time-for-tech-firms-to-act-uk-online-safety-regulation-comes-into-force/ These have broad implications for all...

xenforo.com

Many will fall under the minimum 700,000 monthly UK users for the automated scanning of content requirements

They bike forum guy is massively over reacting in my opinion, its a waste but its up to him what he does, Id be very surprised if come the day in question, suddenly he's retraced and has a change of heart.

That being said, I have a bunch of small forums still that I don't do anything with, I wouldnt think twice about turning them into blogs instead of user generated content sites if the hassle outweighed the benefit.

It will be interesting to see if Xenforo implement some additional revewing methods in the software though.

 

[Trauiner]

Thanks for your detailed reply. From what I've read of the issue, the steps you've mentioned aren't sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Act. It's an extraordinarily broad and overbearing legal framework, like using a net the width of the ocean to catch a couple of fish. So it will inevitably snare many, many, many legitimate communities.

For instance, you almost certainly need to complete a lengthy formal risk assessment process.

It's probably worth setting aside a little time to read through the two links I posted, just to be sure of what you're doing.

Here's even more information on the topic...

Online Safety Act Notes for Small Sites — Russ Garrett

As always, Edwin is over-reacting on this.

99% of online UK businesses will not be affected by this. Mainly because they don't fit the criteria OR because they already have processes in place which satisfy the requirements.

Helmuts doesn't have to do anything extra.

 

[Trauiner]

THere is already discussions on this at Xenforo ( the software this forum uses )

UK Online Safety Regulations and impact on Forums

The UK regulator OFCOM yesterday announced a set of regulations which will come into effect on 17th March 2025 https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/time-for-tech-firms-to-act-uk-online-safety-regulation-comes-into-force/ These have broad implications for all...

xenforo.com

Many will fall under the minimum 700,000 monthly UK users for the automated scanning of content requirements

They bike forum guy is massively over reacting in my opinion, its a waste but its up to him what he does, Id be very surprised if come the day in question, suddenly he's retraced and has a change of heart.

That being said, I have a bunch of small forums still that I don't do anything with, I wouldnt think twice about turning them into blogs instead of user generated content sites if the hassle outweighed the benefit.

It will be interesting to see if Xenforo implement some additional revewing methods in the software though.

There's a lot of incorrect fearmongering going on about the scanning of content also.

You only need to scan content if there's a high chance of illegal content. A bike forum, even with 20 million users a year, would be an unlikely place for illegal content to be shared... so is exempt.

Most of these 'requirements' are based on a level of risk; which 99% of websites will never meet.

 

[Trauiner]

Madness. Another wave of UK bureaucracy intended to fill the coffers and tell people what they can and can't say by the looks of it. I guess it's not surprising considering how bad the UK has become recently.

All this act does is put more onus on websites to stop illegal activity taking place on their website?

There's nothing in the act that tells people what they can and can't say. It merely prevents already illegal activity from being so easy to conduct.

 

[ukbackorder]

I think the issue is more as who defines what 'hate speech' is? Remember this is a country that, while horrible things were going on very publicly, the police were trawling facebook to arrest people for calling people names on social media. But anyway is this even necessary considering there are *already* laws in place to stop all these things and have been for years? It seems like overreach to me.

 

[Trauiner]

I think the issue is more as who defines what 'hate speech' is? Remember this is a country that, while horrible things were going on very publicly, the police were trawling facebook to arrest people for calling people names on social media. But anyway is this even necessary considering there are *already* laws in place to stop all these things and have been for years? It seems like overreach to me.

There are laws in place that make doing those things illegal, yes. The problem with that (and a lot of laws) is that 'said thing' has already happened when the crime has taken place. AKA, when it's too late.

The aim of the 'Online Safety Act' is to prevent/limit those illegal activities being carried out in the first instance.

Do we want to keep arresting people for committing crimes or do we want to remove their ability to commit the crime?

In regards to the hate speech side of things. Nothing in the act makes that side of things complicated. Obvious hate speech (racism etc) is getting banned on most websites regardless -- If they're seeing racist content and allowing it to stay up then yes they'll fall foul of this act; as they should do!

For the "is it or is it not?" type of hate speech, that's protected over things that most websites already have. IE; 'report this post' button. It's then up to the business owner to decide if it's hate speech or not based on their own assessment. IE; Is one person reporting it as hate speech or 1,000 people reporting it?

The act is quite understanding of the realities of online businesses.

Most of the act comes down to "If you have a problem with (insert bad thing here) happening on your website. Sort it out!" OR "If you don't have a problem with bad things happening on your website... it's business as usual."

 

[ukbackorder]

I see what you're saying. I guess we'll have to see how they go with it and whether it's taken seriously.

 

[Helmuts]

I think the issue is more as who defines what 'hate speech' is? Remember this is a country that, while horrible things were going on very publicly, the police were trawling facebook to arrest people for calling people names on social media.

.. well, cyber bullying is a big problem.. and, usually, these are not single instances - they go on for a long long time and serious issues can't be stopped without Law Enforcement representatives getting involved..

.. the 1st one to fall under this Law should be 4chan > I have tried speaking to .org getting them down .. still that place exists..

those who don't know, check out the: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/140/

Transcript: https://darknetdiaries.com/transcript/140/

.. horrible, horrible story..

The legislation needed to be updated as the media/online space has changed. And this was done. Good Law.

I understand that based on this Law - bad players can be even easier punished. Is that bad?

There are many forums that don't moderate insults, many promoting illegal activities/services (I suppose, bhw might be in trouble here), many have adult content and kids are not protected.

Let us all agree that we love living in the UK that protects its people.

.. is this law strict? not at all. Try to insult someone online who is an UAE resident > you could be arrested upon your arrival in Dubai if a complaint is submitted to the local UAE authorities.

We have a great and polite business forum, that has reporting functionality, posts are moderated and children have no business and any interest here (apart from desiring to make money investing in domains or working in the IT industry).

Soon we will be announcing new moderator vacancies, sadly, after me taking over this ship - we have lost all our active moderators .. I see this as my fault as didn't come up with clear guidance on what is what and needed to communicate better with our mods.

And, we will keep providing a safe place to polite and good people.

Great weekend all!! Helmuts

p.s. congratulations to most on having an amazing January (I have already heard of 2x 5 figure .co.uk sales this month).