UK Online Safety Act Enforces Age Verification, Raises Privacy and Censorship Concerns

The UK Online Safety Act has sparked significant controversy for its broad censorship and stringent age verification requirements, which require users to submit official ID or biometric data to access certain online content, raising privacy concerns and leading many users to employ VPNs to circumvent these rules. The law’s sweeping restrictions have inadvertently censored political posts from UK Members of Parliament, like Conservative MP Katie Lam and Independent MP Zarah Sultana, thereby stifling legal speech and political discourse. In parallel, a new UK pornography taskforce plans to propose legislation targeting so-called "barely legal" content, including adult pornography that depicts performers dressed as children, following public backlash against a Channel 4 documentary featuring extreme sexual content. Critics argue that the Online Safety Act’s expansive definitions of harmful content cover a wide range of material, including pornography, hate speech, and various forms of violence, leading to overreach that impacts privacy and free expression. Meanwhile, in the United States, a House Republican bill called the SCREEN Act aims to protect minors from online adult content by requiring strict age verification, including IP address checks and limitations on VPN use, with enforcement by the Federal Trade Commission. Both countries are grappling with balancing child protection online against concerns about privacy, censorship, and the potential suppression of free speech.