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of expression and community-driven content moderation processes. We are also deeply concerned about the privacy implications of collecting user data for mandatory age verification. With the shared goal of making the internet better and safer for all while also protecting
Knowledge and other Wikimedia projects, we offer our recommendations for revisions of the OSB.
996:, from September of last year, says that while "the Foundation supports the European Commissionâs goals of fighting child sexual abuse and effectively removing CSAM online, we are concerned that some of the requirements will disproportionately impact smaller or nonprofit platforms through unrealistic deadlines for both content removal and compliance obligations".
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While the OSB as it stands in early
November 2022 has been revised to address serious concerns about who has the power to define and order deletion of "lawful but harmful" content affecting adults, many aspects of the OSB remain highly problematic. Chief among those are the failure to protect freedom
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Certainly, if these predictions are accurate, such measures would pose a major threat to the web as we know it. However, it is unclear precisely what the actual extent or implementation of the proposed legislation would be. The initiative has not been reported on very widely, with most coverage from
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I'm sure that Julian
Assange will be heartened by your authoritative legal opinion that not being an American citizen or resident or even setting foot in the place and using servers located well outside the United States means that their laws don't apply to him and the United States cannot possibly
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of the insanity will be toned down. The Linux kernel was first developed in Europe, so I can't see them saying "Oh, sorry, you can't run apt any more." But even if they come out with some crazy law like that, it won't shut downâit will just get hosted and run outside the EU by non-EU residents, and
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The
Wikimedia Foundation, as the nonprofit host of Knowledge, along with affiliated organizations such as Wikimedia UK, and the larger movement of volunteers support efforts to make the internet safer. When people are harassed or feel otherwise unsafe communicating online, their ability to access,
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which add provisions that "senior managers at tech firms could face up to two years in jail if they breach new duties to keep children safe online". While the bill has been written with some carve-outs for broadcast media and journalists, the general assumption with regard to websites is that they
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Ultimately, it remains to be seen what the broader implications will be of this legislation, or whether it will pass. Government oversight of personal communications has certainly played a role in much of human history, but there isn't much in the way of legal precedent on criminal penalties for
887:
Unfortunately, however, the UK OSB not only threatens freedom of expression and privacy for readers and volunteers alike, but also threatens
Knowledgeâs volunteer-driven governance model. In order to "make the UK the safest place to go online," the legislation seeks to impose numerous duties on
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Knowledgeâs volunteer-driven governance model is what allows all of this to work, since it facilitates decentralized decision-making about content on the website. This model of curation of free and open knowledge is led by volunteers who collaborate to expand the encyclopedia and maintain high
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quality information that is freely accessible around the world. It depends on strong protections for the right to freedom of expression and privacy, and in turn it furthers the right to participate in culture and science, as well as the right to education.
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titled "Stoppa förslaget om massövervakning i EU" ("Stop the proposal on mass surveillance of the EU"). This article has been making the rounds on the web in the last couple days, having been translated into
English and made available a few days ago in a
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citizen. If the EU wants to do their thing, those of us who live outside it should just ignore them. I'm no more subject to EU law than I am subject to North Korean law, and I've got no problem calling Jong-Un "Fat Boy Kim". That's illegal as
903:"legal but harmful" content written about on websites where editorial decisions are made by groups of volunteer collaborators. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which a volunteer encyclopedia remained accessible in a country where
830:
The bill, and the amendment, would impose pages of duties on someone who, for fun, runs their own social media or photo/video sharing server, or hosts a multi-player game which lets players chat or see each other's content or creations.
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that the bill would "make the UK the safest place in the world to be online while enshrining free speech" by "protecting the most vulnerable from accessing harmful content, and ensuring there is no safe space for terrorists to hide
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platforms hosting user-generated content, including requirements to implement processes to limit or prevent access to illegal or harmful content. Such duties as currently drafted will interfere with the ways that
Knowledge works.
947:, ostensibly intended to prevent child abuse, that would "monitor and audit the communication of all European Union citizens", including e-mail, instant messaging, and text messages. On February 1, Mullvad went further, in a
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about the hazards of the web, and the necessity for "proportionate measures" like making website owners "criminally liable for failing to give information to media regulator Ofcom". Others, like Chris Stokel-Walker in the
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attitude â and, indeed, doom may be on the menu â it is also crucial to remember that so is hope. The subject of free expression on the
Internet has been a political hot potato for decades. The astute reader will recall
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like "the only good Brit soldier is a deed one, burn auld fella buuuuurn", the proposed Act would broaden the government's power to take action against posts, under broad categories like
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192:"intended to improve internet safety". Both have wide-ranging implications for posters, lurkers, and everyone in between, and both have been the subject of fierce debate.
915:. Of course, in countries that have constitutionally guaranteed freedom of expression, the precedent on this has generally been "leave us alone" â which brings us to the
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create or share knowledge is diminished. We believe online safety can only be achieved when adequate safeguards for privacy and freedom of expression are in place.
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about the potential for these "chat control" measures to permit government surveillance of private cloud storage and end online anonymity. Last May,
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Specifically, the bill gives little distinction between "content moderation", carried out at industrial scale by paid employees at large firms like
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In two major
English-speaking countries, two separate legal mechanisms are working their way through two separate processes. The first is a
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the bill's implications for
Knowledge are "not entirely clear", citing Vice President of Global Advocacy Rebecca MacKinnon's concerns. A
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Legal status of Wikimedia projects "unclear" under potential European legislation: WMF issues salvo in latest battles of the Posting Wars
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Russian Knowledge shuts down to fight censorship threat; E3 team and new tools; Wikitravel proposal bogged down
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Russian Knowledge shuts down to fight censorship threat; E3 team and new tools; Wikitravel proposal bogged down
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are businesses run by companies; the legal status of volunteer moderation is unclear. The BBC cites solicitor
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WMF staff turntable continues to spin; Endowment gets more cash; RfA continues to be a pit of steely knives
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WMF staff turntable continues to spin; Endowment gets more cash; RfA continues to be a pit of steely knives
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726:) is a proposed Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. In the last few months, some (including the
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Foundation takes aim at undisclosed paid editing; Greek Knowledge editor faces down legal challenge
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Foundation takes aim at undisclosed paid editing; Greek Knowledge editor faces down legal challenge
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The initiative has existed for some time, and has received modest coverage, mostly from critics.
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The European Commission has information on their website regarding the initiative, called
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1001:"Fighting child sexual abuse: detection, removal and reporting of illegal content online
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Editor given three-year sentence, big RfA makes news, Guy Standing takes it sitting down
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Editor given three-year sentence, big RfA makes news, Guy Standing takes it sitting down
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then not be subject to EU law anyway. It amazes me that people forget the Internet is
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are. There aren't handy buzzwords for things that don't scale to a billion users.
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the measure as an "ineffectual and even harmful" step towards authoritarianism.
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Legal status of Wikimedia projects "unclear" under potential European legislation
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Legal status of Wikimedia projects "unclear" under potential European legislation
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Legal status of Wikimedia projects "unclear" under potential European legislation
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Twenty-six words that created the internet, and the future of an encyclopedia
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Twenty-six words that created the internet, and the future of an encyclopedia
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A net loss: Knowledge attacked, closing off Russia? welcoming back Turkey?
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A net loss: Knowledge attacked, closing off Russia? welcoming back Turkey?
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gotten extradited to the US, has he? But I said nothing about being an
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from Mullvad VPN. It warns of an impending legislative proposal in the
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attempt to take legal action against him for breaking its crazy laws.
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encyclopedically relevant (but shocking and offensive) illustrations
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Turkish Knowledge censorship; "Can Knowledge survive?"; PR editing
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Turkish Knowledge censorship; "Can Knowledge survive?"; PR editing
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While it is easy to come away from headlines like these with a
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saying that the law would "ban open source operating systems".
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980:"could undermine end-to-end encryption for billions of people"
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Court-ordered article redaction, paid editing, and rock stars
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Court-ordered article redaction, paid editing, and rock stars
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French intelligence agents threaten Wikimedia volunteer
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French intelligence agents threaten Wikimedia volunteer
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in this issue â but that is neither here nor there.
1176:If your comment has not appeared here, you can try
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474:Propaganda and photos, lunatics and a lunar backup
221:Propaganda and photos, lunatics and a lunar backup
777:While it is already possible for Britons to face
1326:
874:by the Wikimedia Policy goes into greater depth:
1188:As with any of this stuff, I suspect at least
695:Censorship, social media in schools, and more
442:Censorship, social media in schools, and more
161:
1023:of Wikimedia projects' role in the web-wide
755:"tangled mess born of political wrangling"
1238:in North Korea, but well, I'm not there.
643:China blocks secure version of Knowledge
390:China blocks secure version of Knowledge
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1003:". Big if true, indeed. But who knows?
807:Recently, the Wikimedia Foundation has
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1253:Not only EU. UNESCO's new regulation
669:Lawsuit filed against two Wikipedians
416:Lawsuit filed against two Wikipedians
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1335:Knowledge Signpost archives 2023-02
604:Russia temporarily blocks Knowledge
351:Russia temporarily blocks Knowledge
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1283:putting together the next issue
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1172:add the page to your watchlist
1025:protests against SOPA and PIPA
984:Electronic Frontier Foundation
811:on the debate, in the wake of
759:Electronic Frontier Foundation
13:
1:
1269:15:25, 5 February 2023 (UTC)
1245:10:46, 5 February 2023 (UTC)
1221:08:09, 5 February 2023 (UTC)
1204:05:42, 5 February 2023 (UTC)
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174:United States Supreme Court
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182:Communications Decency Act
753:, have called the bill a
591:Wales in China; #Edit2015
526:From Russia with WikiLove
338:Wales in China; #Edit2015
273:From Russia with WikiLove
994:feedback on the proposal
955:advocacy organizations.
1169:. To follow comments,
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1096:Disinformation report
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972:posted on his website
905:local chapter members
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1225:Well, Assange never
1165:from this article's
917:American legislation
907:faced jail time for
783:single-retweet posts
987:strenuously opposed
945:European Commission
1156:Discuss this story
1126:WikiProject report
1060:
1047:"Special report" â
1007:What does it mean?
853:, and... whatever
761:described it as a
720:Online Safety Bill
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196:Online Safety Bill
45:â Back to Contents
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1180:purging the cache
932:Svenska Dagbladet
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675:10 September 2012
558:30 September 2019
513:Missed and Dissed
422:10 September 2012
305:30 September 2019
260:Missed and Dissed
50:View Latest Issue
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94:PDF download
1317:Suggestions
1163:transcluded
1091:Section 230
688:9 July 2012
649:5 June 2013
435:9 July 2012
396:5 June 2013
144:X (Twitter)
820:as saying:
818:Neil Brown
809:weighed in
722:(viewable
82:Share this
77:Contribute
22:2023-02-04
1311:Subscribe
1217:(discuss)
1167:talk page
872:blog post
868:says that
779:jail time
1329:Category
1306:Newsroom
1301:Archives
1231:American
1212:Hawkeye7
1037:Previous
1021:coverage
1019:Signpost
847:Facebook
802:online".
769:TechDirt
738:sounding
134:Facebook
124:LinkedIn
114:Mastodon
20: |
1261:Gannmmm
1116:Opinion
936:article
188:of the
180:of the
1195:global
1013:doomer
970:, has
864:Reason
855:ArbCom
851:Google
849:) and
757:; the
154:Reddit
104:E-mail
1296:About
1111:Op-Ed
976:Wired
845:(née
781:over
744:alarm
16:<
1291:Home
1265:talk
1236:hell
1190:some
1045:Next
949:post
941:post
859:AN/I
857:and
843:Meta
799:said
735:been
732:have
724:here
718:The
178:§230
164:JPxG
1227:has
911:or
741:the
186:Act
162:By
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1267:)
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1035:â
962:,
834:â
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730:)
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