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Is the forum covered by the new Online Safety Act?

arealhuman

arealhuman

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A shining example of a new law introduced by those who have little understanding how the internet works, but is the forum covered? It might well be, despite it being low risk in the context of the act. Full details in the article here, including a link to an online checker to see if you're covered.
 
Thanks for that, areahuman - I'll have a read later and pass it on to admin if necessary. If I don't respond within a couple of days, remind me because I might have forgotten!
 
Thank you @arealhuman

From a quick read through, it appears the forum needs to do the risk assessment, put measures in place to mitigate any risk, and although we are not obliged to publish; it we need have it available for Ofcom if requested. As we have (I think) fewer than 7 million active monthly users, around 14 of the 40 protection measures will apply.
 
We have alerted the site owners, thank you again @arealhuman for making us aware - they may already know and be on it, but this makes sure.
 
It's insane that a law like this applies to smaller forums that don't have the type of issues it seeks to address.
 
arealhuman said:
It's insane that a law like this applies to smaller forums that don't have the type of issues it seeks to address.
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Tell me about it... I'm admin on another forum so need to do something about this. The forum's extemely quiet nowadays and I'm debating whether it's worth the hassle. If I get it wrong, I could be liable for a fine of up to £18,000,000 😲
 
Smaller forums and similar community groups are closing left, right and centre, and some in other countries are blocking UK IP addresses to avoid falling foul of the legislation. I looked through all the documentation (there's a 'summary' guide which is just 84 pages of clauses, sub-clauses and legalese) and will be closing my forum too :( It's a green forum and had been going for nearly 19 years - it was a very lively vibrant place back in the early days, but being green is much more mainstream now and there's a lot more information available, so it's more of a chat group for the long-timers.

I wonder whether the people who came up with these regulations even thought about the impact they would have for small communities? Fingers crossed the admin on this forum are happy to jump through the necessary hoops...
 
Thanks Joanne - to be honest, it was probably a good thing. We'd got to the point where we were wondering if it was worth keeping it going, and I know our long-suffering tecchie guy was only hanging on out of loyalty. It was a bit like when someone wrote off our previous 19-year-old car which was getting to the point where getting it through its MOT cost more than it was worth - it helped make the decision.

But yes - it's tragic for all the small (and not so small) community groups who do invaluable work.
 
Just out of interest, (as I have no idea how all this works!) does this affect things like FB and tiktok, that seem to allow pretty appalling content with seemingly no consideration or care? Or is it literally only UK based online thingies? Sorry that's about as tech as I can get!:rolleyes:
 
I believe it covers things with a presence in the UK, so yes; I believe platforms like these would be in scope.
 
Flobo said:
Just out of interest, (as I have no idea how all this works!) does this affect things like FB and tiktok, that seem to allow pretty appalling content with seemingly no consideration or care? Or is it literally only UK based online thingies? Sorry that's about as tech as I can get!:rolleyes:
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I imagine that FB, Tiktok & other major players can just point their lawyers at it and ask them to sort it out. I'm really not sure they remove all inappropriate content in a 'reasonable' amount of time, but their lawyers will be skilled in wrangling over what counts as 'reasonable'.

My understanding is that you fall under the legislation regardless of where you're based - it just depends on whether you have a significant number of UK members. Though I can't say I understand why UK legislation would hold sway in other countries. Apparently, though, some non-UK communities have decided to block UK IP addresses...

Cross-posted with JoanneF - I wonder if having a presence in the UK translates as having a lot of UK members? I must admit I gave up reading all the details when my eyeballs started bleeding 🤣
 
Ah, here we go: 'The framework will apply to any in-scope business worldwide that provides services to UK users.'
 
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