Hey! The UK govt consultation on kids vs the internet closes tomorrow night. Which means you still have time to do their survey/tell them their ideas are stupid and age restrictions won't keep anyone safe.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/growing-up-in-the-online-world-a-national-consultation

#ukpol #onlineSafetyAct

I swear, please, if you are writing about Apple's new age verification stuff in iOS, please do not say that it is there to comply with the #OnlineSafetyAct.

The OSA applies to user-to-user and search services. iOS isn't a service that comes within the remit of the OSA, nor are (as far as I can tell) pretty much anything an Apple account is used for.

They may be trying to pre-emptively comply with other laws (such as California's AB-1043), but the OSA does not require OS-level age verification.

The ICO and Ofcom have now published the anticipated "Joint statement from ICO and Ofcom on age assurance"

https://ico.org.uk/media2/5ybpmabf/ofcom-ico-joint-statement.pdf

This is quite important, since both regulators seem to want a piece of the online safety pie.

#OnlineSafetyAct

A propos of nothing.

I am now (un)officially under-18! Updated #iPhone. Tried to register the new age verification reqs as part of #OnlineSafetyAct but #Apple ONLY permits driver's licence or credit card, (not passports). I have neither. 1hr with Apple Support - no possible solutions other than get driver's licence / credit card (or buy a National ID card).
So now, no Apple Pay, ITVX, iPlayer, gaming apps or much else until Apple change their verification criteria.
Oh well!
#tech #technews

Human rights chief warns against banning social media for kids | POLITICO

It turns out that kids are people too.

Whoda thunk it?

https://www.politico.eu/article/michael-oflaherty-human-rights-council-of-europe-children-social-media-ban/

Via

https://twitter.com/POLITICOEurope/status/2036423223370199092

Ugh, now I'm getting 'confirm you are 18+' notifications on my iPad to comply with the Online Safety Act. As usual with tech companies, the options are 'confirm now' and 'confirm later', no 'go away and don't ask me again'.

(I bought my first Apple product over 18 years ago, but presumably that doesn't count as 'highly effective' age verification)

#OnlineSafetyAct

New blogpost:

"What number of UK users constitutes a 'significant number' for the purposes of the Online Safety Act 2023?"

tl;dr: Ofcom seems to regard a service as having a “significant” number of UK users if it has more than 855 monthly active users and fewer than 50,000 monthly active users, but exactly where the boundary is remains unclear.

https://decoded.legal/blog/2026/03/what-number-of-uk-users-constitutes-a-significant-number-for-the-purposes-of-the-online-safety-act-2023/

#OnlineSafetyAct #blog