Be It Me Not YouThe EU Digital Services Act vs the UK Online Safety Act: Implications for Privacy and Free Speech
As governments race to regulate the internet, the EU’s Digital Services Act and the UK’s Online Safety Act are reshaping how platforms moderate content, protect users, and handle personal data. Framed as efforts to make the web safer, these sweeping laws come with powerful enforcement tools and lofty promises. But beneath the surface lies a deeper tension: between safety and surveillance, moderation and censorship, responsibility and overreach. This post dives into the laws’ origins, what they mean for privacy and free expression, and why critics warn they could quietly undermine the very freedoms they claim to defend.