#online-safety-act

#online-safety-act

Since the introduction of age verification rules under Britain's Online Safety Act, visits to popular adult sites have plummeted, with Pornhub losing over a million visitors.

"Encryption alone doesn't guarantee a secure connection. True security depends on how traffic is routed, what's exposed, and how much control the company has. With proxies, only selected traffic is routed, giving enterprises tighter control, lower attack surface, and better integration into existing security policies."

The Online Safety Act introduces a fundamental shift in how online services - both UK-based and international - must operate when accessible by UK users. Ofcom now holds wide-ranging investigatory and enforcement powers, making compliance not just a legal necessity, but an operational and ethical imperative.

Melanie Dawes emphasized the importance of upcoming age verification checks, stating, "It is a really big moment, because finally, the laws are coming into force. What happens at the end of this month is that we see the wider protections for children come online."

The real problem of humanity is we have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and god-like technologies.

"As a Category 1 service, Wikipedia could face the most burdensome compliance obligations, which were designed to tackle some of the UK's riskiest websites."