Government defends Online Safety Act after X claims it threatens free speech
In a post titled What Happens When Oversight Becomes Overreach, the platform, formerly known as Twitter, outlined criticism of the act and the 'heavy-handed' UK regulators.
The Government countered that it is 'demonstrably false' that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech and said it is not designed to censor political debate.
Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.
This includes a new duty for online providers to reduce the risk that users encounter illegal content as well as age verification measures in the UK to access pornographic content.
'As a result, the act's laudable intentions are at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach. Without a more balanced, collaborative approach, free speech will suffer,' X said.
It accused regulators of taking a 'heavy-handed approach' and said that 'many are now concerned that a plan ostensibly intended to keep children safe is at risk of seriously infringing on the public's right to free expression'.
Ofcom said this week it had launched investigations into 34 pornography sites for new age-check requirements.
The company said 'a balanced approach is the only way to protect individual liberties, encourage innovation and safeguard children'.
A Government spokesperson said: 'It is demonstrably false that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech.
'As well as legal duties to keep children safe, the very same law places clear and unequivocal duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression. Failure to meet either obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10% of global revenue or £18 million, whichever is greater.
'The Act is not designed to censor political debate and does not require platforms to age gate any content other than those which present the most serious risks to children such as pornography or suicide and self-harm content.
'Platforms have had several months to prepare for this law. It is a disservice to their users to hide behind deadlines as an excuse for failing to properly implement it.'
Technology Secretary Peter Kyle became embroiled in a row with Nigel Farage earlier this week over Reform UK's pledge that it would scrap the Act if the party came into power.
He said the Reform UK leader of being on the side of 'extreme pornographers'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oliver Glasner issues clear Liverpool transfer verdict before Wembley clash - 'Clearly'
Liverpool is set to start the 2025/26 season with the Community Shield against Crystal Palace, the 2025 FA Cup champions who upset Manchester City 1-0 in the final. Outside of finalizing a move for one last attacker — seemingly Alexander Isak from Newcastle — and some center-back cover, the Reds have likely finished their summer business. Ahead of Sunday's clash — a game where Virgil van Dijk and Alisson Becker will likely return — Palace manager Oliver Glasner said "you can clearly see a club's ambitions in the transfer market. And it seems that Liverpool FC isn't satisfied with just winning the English league; I think they want to win the Champions League." READ MORE: Liverpool handed double boost before Community Shield as Virgil van Dijk spotted READ MORE: Darwin Nunez showed his true colors with trophy remark as Liverpool transfer exit looms Meanwhile, his Eagles have spent more time trying to win an appeal wth UEFA to reclaim their spot in the 2025/26 Europa League taken from them due to joint ownership issues with Olympique Lyon. At the time of writing, Palace is set to the play in the Conference League. Who has Liverpool signed? The Reds took two players from Bayer Leverkusen in midfielder Florian Wirtz (€125.00m, $156 million) and wing-back Jeremie Frimpong (€40 million, $46.5 million). Liverpool secured striker Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt for €95 million ($110 million) and left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth for €46.9 million ($55 million). Even reserve goalkeeper Armin Pesci was drafted from Paskas AFC for €1.8 million ($2 million). 'They've been playing at this level for years, so I have to say I was a bit surprised that they were so active, but of course it also shows their ambitions," Glasner added. "They obviously saw that we needed to add one or two things to the squad, and they made that very clear and explicit early on this summer.' His Palace side has been far more tepid in the market, having only inked fullback Borna Sosa from Ajax (for a bargin fee) and goalkeeper Walter Benetiz from PSV (free transfer). Glasner joined the Eagles in the second half of the 2024 season and boasts an impressive 45.54% win percentage with the club across 61 matches. In addition to leading Palace to their first trophy, the club's 53 points last season were their most ever in a Premier League season. READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp shared Darwin Nunez warning immediately after signing Liverpool striker READ MORE: How Liverpool could line up with Bradley Barcola in four-way attacking dream Glasner has been successful wherever he's gone. He was named both director of sport and manager at LASK while they played in the Austrian second tier and had them second in the first division within a few seasons. He led German powerhouse Wolfsburg to the Champions League in 2021 for the first time in a decade and then won the Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt a season later. Glasner also weighed in on the 2025/26 title race. 'Four or five clubs have invested heavily again. If I take City, over €300 million in 2025, Liverpool similarly, I think Arsenal not far behind, Chelsea exactly the same, so you can see that they want to win the Premier League, they want to win the Champions League," he said.
The Hill
23 minutes ago
- The Hill
OpenAI releases GPT-5, a potential barometer for whether artificial intelligence hype is justified
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — OpenAI has released the fifth generation of the artificial intelligence technology that powers ChatGPT, a product update that's being closely watched as a measure of whether generative AI is advancing rapidly or hitting a plateau. GPT-5 arrives more than two years after the March 2023 release of GPT-4, bookending a period of intense commercial investment, hype and worry over AI's capabilities. In anticipation, rival Anthropic released the latest version of its own chatbot, Claude, earlier in the week. Expectations are high for the newest version of OpenAI's flagship model because the San Francisco company has long positioned its technical advancements as a path toward artificial general intelligence, or AGI, a technology that is supposed to surpass humans at economically valuable work. It is also trying to raise huge amounts of money to get there, in part to pay for the costly computer chips and data centers needed to build and run the technology. OpenAI started in 2015 as a nonprofit research laboratory to safely build AGI and has since incorporated a for-profit company with a valuation that has grown to $300 billion. The company has tried to change its structure since the nonprofit board ousted its CEO Sam Altman in Nov. 2023. He was reinstated days later and continues to lead OpenAI. It has run into hurdles escaping its nonprofit roots, including scrutiny from the attorneys general in California and Delaware, who have oversight of nonprofits, and a lawsuit by Elon Musk, an early donor to and founder of OpenAI. Most recently, OpenAI has said it will turn its for-profit company into a public benefit corporation, which must balance the interests of shareholders and its mission.
Gizmodo
23 minutes ago
- Gizmodo
The Air Force Wants to Use Cybertrucks for Target Practice
The U.S. Air Force seems to have finally found a good use for Elon Musk's Tesla Cybertrucks: blowing them up with missiles. The War Zone was first to spot that America's aerial defense wing plans to purchase two of Tesla's rolling heaps of metal for 'use as targets for precision munitions during testing and training.' Associated contracting documents seem to imply that America's 'enemies' may soon be using Cybertrucks and that, as a result, the Air Force needs to practice shooting at them. The cars are two of 33 (including Bongo trucks, pickups, and SUVs) that the government hopes to buy and transport to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, where they will support the mission of the U.S. Special Operations Command's (SOCOM) Stand Off Precision Guided Munitions (SOPGM) program, TWZ writes. The contract, which is available online, claims Elon's cars will be used 'for target vehicle training flight test events,' noting that in 'the operating theatre it is likely the type of vehicles used by the enemy may transition to Tesla Cyber trucks as they have been found not to receive the normal extent of damage expected upon major impact.' The document adds: 'Testing needs to mirror real world situations. The intent of the training is to prep the units for operations by simulating scenarios as closely as possible to the real world situations.' It's unclear what 'enemies' the Air Force is referring to (some parts of the document are redacted), but it's funny to imagine the Cybertruck becoming the favored vehicle of terrorists and non-state actors. The document further notes the unique attributes of the Cybertruck, explaining that, in February: …market research was conducted to assess the competition for the Tesla Cybertruck by evaluating its design, materials, impact resistance, and innovative technologies. The study revealed that the Cybertruck's aggressively angular and futuristic design, paired with its unpainted stainless steel exoskeleton, sets it apart from competitors typically using painted steel or aluminum bodies. Additionally, its 48V electrical architecture provides superior power and efficiency, a feature that rivals are only beginning to develop. Is it these unique attributes that might make the car appealing to America's foes? It's unclear from the document. Gizmodo reached out to the Air Force for more information and to Tesla for comment. Musk's latest vehicular 'innovation' has mostly been a commercial failure, so it seems appropriate that one of the clearest use-cases for it—aside from contributing to local traffic congestion—is state-mandated obliteration. Tesla had reportedly planned for a production capacity of 250,000 trucks per year but sold less than 40,000 units in 2024, according to estimates from Cox Automotive. The model has limped along with anemic sales this year, having reportedly only sold some 7,100 during Q1. The car has been called a 'flop,' a 'failure,' and 'the stupidest vehicle ever designed,' among other things. In recent months, the company has begun to make special offers to potential buyers, as a way to potentially sweeten the deal. A recent report claimed that, amidst the truck's commercial failure, Tesla has recently been considering developing a smaller truck.
