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Articles for Category Tag - Censorship

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Gov Confirm Measures to Tackle Anonymous UK Internet Trolls

25th February, 2022 (29 Comments)

The Government has today confirmed that they will add two new duties to the Online Safety Bill (OSB), which will act to crackdown on the anonymous online abuse that occurs on the largest social networks. The wider bill also tasks Ofcom with tackling “harmful” internet content through website bans, fines and other sanctions.

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Cybersecurity and Human Rights Groups Warn UK Against Encryption Ban

9th February, 2022 (3 Comments)

Some 50 leading security, human rights and technology experts have put their names to a new letter that accuses the UK Government of “misleading the public” with a “scaremongering” campaign against the use of end-to-end encryption on the internet, which helps to keep everything from financial transactions to messaging secure.

Gov Confirms Second Try at UK Internet Age Verification System

8th February, 2022 (23 Comments)

The Government has today confirmed that the new Online Safety Bill will, among many other changes, have another go at introducing a controversial internet age verification system, which will target “all websites” that contain pornographic content. Sites that fail to comply will be blocked by broadband ISPs and mobile operators.

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High Court Orders Big UK ISPs to Block Cyberlocker Website

7th February, 2022 (18 Comments)

The High Court has ordered six of the UK’s largest broadband ISPs – Sky Broadband, BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and EE – to block customers from accessing a website called Mixdrop, which is described as a “cyberlocker” that facilitated internet piracy (copyright infringement) by allowing users to stream or download TV and film content.

Gov Extend UK Online Safety Bill via New List of Criminal Content

4th February, 2022 (17 Comments)

The Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB), which tasks Ofcom with tackling “harmful” content online through website bans, fines and other sanctions, has today extended the legislation via a new list of “criminal content” (e.g. online drug and weapons dealing, people smuggling, revenge porn, fraud etc.) for tech firms to remove as a priority.

DCMS Committee Finds Online Safety Bill Gets the Balance Wrong

24th January, 2022 (1 Comment)

A new cross-party UK report from the DCMS Select Committee has warned that the Government’s new Online Safety Bill (OSB), which will task Ofcom with tackling “harmful” content online, fails to get the balance right and “neither protects freedom of expression nor is it clear nor robust enough to tackle illegal and harmful online content.”

EE Staff Deny UK Mobile Network Blocks Apple’s Private Relay

13th January, 2022 (12 Comments)

Support agents working for mobile operator EE (BT) have denied claims by some UK customers (here and here), and online news reports (here, here and here), that their mobile broadband (4G and 5G) network is intentionally blocking Apple’s iCloud linked ‘Private Relay‘ feature (such a block may clash with Net Neutrality rules).

Court Forces UK ISPs to Block More Nintendo Switch Piracy Sites

22nd December, 2021 (13 Comments)

Nintendo has won another injunction in the High Court, which forces most of the largest UK broadband ISPs – Sky Broadband, BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk, Virgin Media and EE – to block two more websites that facilitated copyright infringement (internet piracy) by helping to distribute video games for the Switch console.

Parliamentary Committee Sets Out Plan for UK Internet Regulation

14th December, 2021 (24 Comments)

The Joint Committee on the controversial Draft Online Safety Bill (OSB), which was setup to help establish the regulatory framework to help Ofcom tackle “harmful” content online (e.g. hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.), has today published its report. But the tougher rules and tighter offences may not all be workable.

Six Big UK ISPs Ordered to Block Five Piracy Streaming Websites

25th October, 2021 (25 Comments)

Several major UK broadband ISPs, including BT, EE, Plusnet, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk and Virgin Media (VMO2), have been ordered by London’s High Court to block six more streaming websites after they were found to be facilitating internet copyright infringement (piracy).

Court Orders UK ISP TalkTalk to Block More Piracy Websites

14th October, 2021 (28 Comments)

Budget broadband ISP TalkTalk has this week updated their list of blocked websites (i.e. those where they’ve been told to do so by the UK High Court) to include a number of new sites that, following an injunction secured by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), were found to be facilitating internet copyright infringement.

Parliamentary Committee Starts Scrutinising UK Online Safety Bill

29th July, 2021 (2 Comments)

A new cross-party “super committee” has today begun to scrutinise the UK Government’s new Online Safety Bill (Online Harms), which aims to have Ofcom clampdown on “harmful” online content (e.g. hate speech, bullying, terrorism, conspiracy theories etc.), while precariously trying to balance that with freedom of speech.

High Court Orders Big UK ISPs to Block 19 More Piracy Websites

23rd July, 2021 (20 Comments)

The High Court in London has, following a case raised by the Motion Picture Association of Europe (MPA), issued a new injunction that forces most of the major UK broadband ISPs (e.g. BT, Sky Broadband, TalkTalk, Virgin Media, Plusnet etc.) to block 19 websites that were found to be facilitating internet copyright infringement (piracy).

Lords Committee Warn Online Safety Bill Threatens Free Speech

22nd July, 2021 (9 Comments)

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has today published the outcome of its recent inquiry into freedom of expression, which warns that the UK Government’s new Online Safety Bill (Online Harms) is a “threat to free speech” due to its clampdown on “legal but harmful” content and “would be ineffective.”

Gov Publish UK Online Safety Bill to Censor “Harmful” Content UPDATE

12th May, 2021 (23 Comments)

After much delay the UK Government will today publish a draft of their new Online Safety Bill (Online Harms), which among other things hands Ofcom a new “legal duty of care” that can be used to force websites into removing “harmful” internet content. Failing to do so may risk being fined or blocked by mobile and broadband ISPs.

2021 Queens Speech Touts Online Safety Bill and Broadband Boost

11th May, 2021 (0 Comments)

The Queen has today carried out the first State Opening of Parliament since the pandemic began, which sets out the UK Government’s agenda for the coming session. As expected this included various references to gigabit broadband and mobile connectivity, as well as their plans to publish the controversial Online Safety Bill.

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Customers of UK ISP TalkTalk Suffer Mass Website Blocking Bug

1st April, 2021 (21 Comments)

Some of TalkTalk’s UK home broadband ISP customers have suddenly found themselves unable to access lots of different websites (e.g. social media sites, the National Lottery and many more) after the internet provider’s network-level HomeSafe filter for “blocking inappropriate content” suddenly enabled itself, and wouldn’t disable.