Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

wikimediafoundation.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 192 posts

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#11

Post by ChrisKnott »

cubefox wrote: post #6

The headline seems a little misleading. From the article: > The Wikimedia Foundation shares the UK government’s commitment to promoting online environments where everyone can safely participate. The organization is not bringing a general challenge to the OSA as a whole, nor to the existence of the Category 1 duties themselves. Rather, the legal challenge focuses solely on the new Categorisation Regulations that risk…

Is Wikipedia actually Category 1?

Seems to require an algorithmic feed to be Category 1 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348267174

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#12

Post by ZiiS »

perihelions wrote: post #7

This is full of contradictions and both-sides-of-the-mouth speech. You can't coherently argue for an "open internet" "for everyone", and simultaneously plead exceptionalism for your own website, due its special virtues[0]. An "open internet" for websites with sterling reputations is a closed internet. It's an internet where censorship segregates the desirable from undesirable; where websites must plead their case to…

They can build a solid legal case on their exceptionalism _and_ hope the court uses it as an opportunity to more widely protect the open Internet. The fact that the letter of the law means you can't have an open Internet isn't their fault.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#13

Post by perihelions »

Towaway69 wrote: post #10
perihelions wrote: post #7

This is full of contradictions and both-sides-of-the-mouth speech. You can't coherently argue for an "open internet" "for everyone", and simultaneously plead exceptionalism for your own website, due its special virtues[0]. An "open internet" for websites with sterling reputations is a closed internet. It's an internet where censorship segregates the desirable from undesirable; where websites must plead their case to…

This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach? The law has passed, Wikipedia has to enforce that law but don’t wish to because of privacy concerns. What should Wikimedia now do? Give up? Ignore the laws of the UK? Shutdown in the UK? What exactly are the options for wikimedia?

> "This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach?"

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3477966 ("Wikipedia blackout page (wikipedia.org)" (2012))

Wikimedia weren't always a giant ambulating pile of cash; they used to be activists. Long ago.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#14

Post by jojobas »

Towaway69 wrote: post #10
perihelions wrote: post #7

This is full of contradictions and both-sides-of-the-mouth speech. You can't coherently argue for an "open internet" "for everyone", and simultaneously plead exceptionalism for your own website, due its special virtues[0]. An "open internet" for websites with sterling reputations is a closed internet. It's an internet where censorship segregates the desirable from undesirable; where websites must plead their case to…

This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach? The law has passed, Wikipedia has to enforce that law but don’t wish to because of privacy concerns. What should Wikimedia now do? Give up? Ignore the laws of the UK? Shutdown in the UK? What exactly are the options for wikimedia?

Laws get challenged and overturned all the time. I doubt it will happen this time, can't have wrongthink.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#16

Post by raincole »

Towaway69 wrote: post #10
perihelions wrote: post #7

This is full of contradictions and both-sides-of-the-mouth speech. You can't coherently argue for an "open internet" "for everyone", and simultaneously plead exceptionalism for your own website, due its special virtues[0]. An "open internet" for websites with sterling reputations is a closed internet. It's an internet where censorship segregates the desirable from undesirable; where websites must plead their case to…

This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach? The law has passed, Wikipedia has to enforce that law but don’t wish to because of privacy concerns. What should Wikimedia now do? Give up? Ignore the laws of the UK? Shutdown in the UK? What exactly are the options for wikimedia?

Warn the UK users during the grace period as best as they can.

And after the grace period... yeah, I think blocking UK IPs is the "correct" thing to do. If the government doesn't make them an exception than they'll have to do that, correct or not, anyway.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#17

Post by lukan »

IlikeKitties wrote: post #2

All this is of course bullshit. The only response that would have a chance of succeeding would have been if most websites collectively just blocked everyone from the UK. Imagine if 60-70% of the internet just stopped working for UK People. The law would be toppled tomorrow. Every Company that implemented any compliance is a traitor to the free internet and should be treated as such.

"Every Company that implemented any compliance is a traitor to the free internet and should be treated as such."

What would be the punishment for that?

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#18

Post by Swinx43 »

IlikeKitties wrote: post #2

All this is of course bullshit. The only response that would have a chance of succeeding would have been if most websites collectively just blocked everyone from the UK. Imagine if 60-70% of the internet just stopped working for UK People. The law would be toppled tomorrow. Every Company that implemented any compliance is a traitor to the free internet and should be treated as such.

I live in the UK. Please for the love of all that is sweet and holy DO THIS! The only way our politicians will learn is if the public outcry is so fierce it makes them fear for their jobs.

A UK internet blockade might just get this going.

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#19

Post by internetter »

perihelions wrote: post #13
Towaway69 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach? The law has passed, Wikipedia has to enforce that law but don’t wish to because of privacy concerns. What should Wikimedia now do? Give up? Ignore the laws of the UK? Shutdown in the UK? What exactly are the options for wikimedia?

> "This is a fine sentiment, could you also please provide an alternative approach?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3477966 ( "Wikipedia blackout page (wikipedia.org)" (2012)) Wikimedia weren't always a giant ambulating pile of cash; they used to be activists. Long ago.

> Wikimedia weren't always a giant ambulating pile of cash; they used to be activists. Long ago.

Your point is moot because this wasn’t a WMF initiative, it was an enwiki community initiative which WMF agreed to accommodate.

The history is detailed… on Wikipedia… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protests_against_SOPA_and_PIPA...

Re: Wikimedia Foundation Challenges UK Online Safety Act Regulations

#20

Post by IlikeKitties »

lukan wrote: post #17
IlikeKitties wrote: post #2

All this is of course bullshit. The only response that would have a chance of succeeding would have been if most websites collectively just blocked everyone from the UK. Imagine if 60-70% of the internet just stopped working for UK People. The law would be toppled tomorrow. Every Company that implemented any compliance is a traitor to the free internet and should be treated as such.

"Every Company that implemented any compliance is a traitor to the free internet and should be treated as such." What would be the punishment for that?

> What would be the punishment for that?

On a legal level? None. On a personal level? Don't give them money or your business. Avoid them completely or ensure you use ad blockers on their sites and throw away accounts if necessary. Do not contribute to their content.

In short: you take whatever they give you, and you give nothing in return.

Post reply on HN