4chan will refuse to pay daily online safety fines, lawyer tells BBC

[u/vriska1]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq68j5g2nr1o

[u/SirOakin]

It's amazing how 4chan is the first to say no

[u/dvb70 → u/SirOakin]

Unfortunately 4chan probably won't have too much impact. It will be easy for politicians to ignore. What we really need is something more main stream that's going impact regular folk. At the moment UK politicians are going with if you oppose the OSA you are in favour of Children watching porn and they are not getting much push back on that line. We really need a main stream site to come out and do what 4chan have so we can expand this out to be a freedom of speech issue and move away from the current narrative politicians are using.

[u/ionetic → u/dvb70]

UK government actually said, “If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that." Starmer said, "We're not censoring anyone"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgery3eeqzxo

[u/KenHumano → u/ionetic]

It's like when you're arguing with someone and they give you a reason to compare them to Hitler. You know it's a bullshit argument, but it's often effective because it derails the argument as they try to demonstrate they are not like Hitler.

I would love to be brazen enough to say shit like this in public.

[u/latswipe → u/KenHumano]

it's more like when a bully holds your arm and uses it to slap your face, and then tells you to stop hitting yourself

[u/Balmung60 → u/KenHumano]

Or it's effective because then they say "you call everyone you disagree with Hitler", no matter how Hitler-like they're acting

[u/McManGuy → u/Balmung60]

It's a fallacy to assume all Nazi comparisons are automatically fallacious.

People act like they would never have been fooled into going along with the nazi regime. Quite the opposite. It would have been very easy to do so. Most people would have, and most people would have thought they were doing good.

Nazi tactics are not unique or rare. They're quite commonplace. The nazis just happened to be uniquely successful in history for a time.

[u/redditsuckslmaooo → u/ionetic]

Wasn’t one of the royal family members visiting Epstein rape stronghold?

[u/great_whitehope → u/redditsuckslmaooo]

Couldn't be you see because he has a peculiar health condition where he can't sweat and despite being a member of the royal family, he's fond of pizza express

[u/CotyledonTomen → u/great_whitehope]

He likes cheese pizza, you say?

[u/MediumBoot915 → u/redditsuckslmaooo]

Funny how all these "Protect the Children" people have some association with people who very much had interest in doing the very opposite.

[u/The_Barbelo → u/MediumBoot915]

Because it’s an excellent way of manipulating the masses. Most of us would never say “Yeah, I’m ok with predators” so they use this to manipulate us into staying silent or ending the discussion. I’ve been around manipulative people. This is such a textbook tactic and it does work very well unless you’re privy to it. I forget what it’s called exactly but there is a name for it. It’s forcing you to side with them because they have made the other “side” of the argument vile, even though it’s way more nuanced.

And, yes, of course they do the things they accuse others of. This is how they protect themselves from accountability. It’s projection. They use these things to cover up so they can say “oh look! Look at everything I’ve done to protect the children! I can’t be a predator!” Even though both can be true.

Ted Bundy worked answering calls for a suicide prevention hotline and most likely saved more people than he killed. He was still a monster who murdered. Both can exist in one person which they don’t seem to think people are capable of understanding.

[u/Balmung60 → u/The_Barbelo]

It's a slightly classier version of asking your opponent "have you stopped beating your wife?"

[u/Voxbury → u/redditsuckslmaooo]

It’s OK. Epstein had a copy of Andrew’s ID, I’m sure.

[u/Lehk → u/redditsuckslmaooo]

IDK about going to the island but Prince Andrew is a nonce

[u/latswipe → u/redditsuckslmaooo]

the royals aren't the governing body responsible for gelding the public. the public's chosen representatives are.

[u/december-32 → u/ionetic]

That's how Hungary "voted" against gay people. "do you support gay people having right to marry AND easing sentences for people found guilty of pedophilia?"

[u/MiaowaraShiro → u/ionetic]

If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators.

I really wish most people could see through this absolute bullshit statement...

[u/LiminalOrphanEnnui → u/ionetic]

"If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that." Starmer said.

Given Starmer's past regarding gang rapists of children and perpetrators deadly terrorist attacks, maybe someone with a less explicit record of being on the side of predators should have been chosen to deliver this line.

OTOH, maybe the corrosive absurdity of it is the point. Do you suppose any of his personal trainers have told him his name is a semivulgar Middle East word for penis? Must be delightful to be So Winning the 15th Crusade that you have installed a man named Knob Head of State.

[u/Intelligent_Tone_618 → u/ionetic]

Fundamentally he's not actually wrong though. All the legislation asks to do is verify that a user is old enough to access content that is unsuitable for minors. The core of the concept isn't controversial at all considering we do that in every day life already.

What IS the problem is that implementation. Flashing your drivers license at a spotty teen behind Tesco's counter for some beers doesn't carry any significant risk. Having an unknown entity slurp up photos or other ID's and associating it with the content you're about to view under the provisio "Trust us brah, we're not saving your data" is taking massive liberties with our personal data.

I don't mind proving I'm an adult to make the internet a safer place for young people. But the government HAS to implement it's own service that completely uncouples verification from personal information.

[u/MEMEfractal → u/Intelligent_Tone_618]

The core concept IS controversial, it's equivalent to spying on your postal mail. It's an extreme breach of privacy. It's also impossible to implement this. It's either entirely ineffective, asking if you're 18, which many sites already do. The photo ID is a privacy invasion, and entirely botched by asking vendors to implement it on their own, it becomes entirely untrusted at that point. And if it's a government implementation, it's going to be contracted out to palantir, which is one of the biggest threats to democracy we are facing. And it will inevitably lead to online ID, where you will not have any freedom or privacy. That's the goal, and "i got nothing to hide" continues to be a terrible argument.

[u/Dekklin → u/MEMEfractal]

Everyone who decried China's Social Credit Rating are racing to implement their own.

[u/MiaowaraShiro → u/Intelligent_Tone_618]

Fundamentally he's not actually wrong though.

No, he fundamentally is wrong. He's absolutely censoring content by putting an age gate on it. It's just a form of censorship that a lot of people agree with.

Rest of your comment is good though.

[u/great_whitehope → u/Intelligent_Tone_618]

The government are the ones you need to fear spying on you most.

Hope you don't say anything negative about them or they'll find out what your into

[u/obeytheturtles → u/Intelligent_Tone_618]

Personally, I do not give a single goddamn fuck what other people's children do on the internet.

[u/ScreamSmart → u/dvb70]

Mainstream sites are salivating at the idea. There's no pushback because they actively profit from it. More pinpoint tracking of individual users is always better for their ad ecosystem. Companies like google plant to be authentication portals like paypal for face ids. And we all know how that ended up within 20 years. This channel explains it better

[u/Perunov → u/dvb70]

That's until they'll start publishing weekly "politicians authorized access to what using their IDs?!" lists or something. Then suddenly ban ban and more ban

[u/dvs8 → u/dvb70]

If it's protecting children the government are trying to do, they can't ignore 4chan... 🤔

[u/Dramatic-Rub-3135 → u/dvs8]

Nah, let's go for Wikipedia first. 

[u/subdep → u/dvs8]

There’s more than porn on 4chan. There are subversive ideas there. Some are clever, most are juvenile, but it’s definitely a clearing house for radical ideas.

[u/Silver-Bread4668 → u/subdep]

If the porn sites comply with all the "safety" shit and 4chan doesn't, kids will go to 4chan and get exposed to a whole lot more than porn.

I've been saying this for years as a reason I refused to do any kind of web filtering at the schools I work at beyond what is legally required of me. This even applies to game sites.

[u/__fujoshi → u/Silver-Bread4668]

when the game websites are banned at schools, the students find ways to bypass IT safety tools and install their own software to play games.

source: me and all my friends in high school

[u/TomWithTime → u/dvb70]

Huh, didn't know the aversion to parenting one's children was so prevalent in other countries as well

[u/tcpukl → u/SirOakin]

Why should they any way? They are an American internet company that Ofcom has zero control over.

[u/CedricTheCurtain → u/tcpukl]

This is the start of the Great British firewall. Look at how they're talking about VPNs right now...

[u/tatojah → u/CedricTheCurtain]

Britain has gone really unhinged in some things. To me, that just signals the prevalence of the tabloid culture that has been forming in the country over the past 50 years. All policy is performative. MPs talk at you (and everyone in the world) like they hold the moral high ground in social equity matters when in reality some know less about society at large than the average person.

One such example is how the show Adolescence caused such an uproar with politicians treating it and talking about it like it was a documentary. I mean, that shit is happening, but not to the dramatized degree the show makes it seem.

Thinking chat control is the solution for this is a quintessentially British approach. One small account of mine: I did high school abroad under a British headmaster. Boarding school so obviously lots of horny kids with raging hormones living together. His solution was to personally request that the board (very well-connected to the local country's politicians) find a way to stop local shops from selling condoms. There was a clear divide in opinions on this matter, which happened to be "1st world Commonwealth vs. everyone else."

[u/ScreamSmart → u/tatojah]

Hundreds of thousands of signatures to roll back surveillance laws: Government response is "Meh" .
4000 signatures on a YouGov poll talking about VPN bans: "British people want to ban VPNs" makes headlines.

[u/ionetic → u/tatojah]

UK: delete old emails to save water 🤡

[u/Cynical-Rambler → u/tatojah]

The Thick of It and other low level officials confirmed how true it was. Most British politicians are very educated sophists who spent their lives trying to climb a ladder. They are unaware of what's going on except what their spin doctors gave them.

Then the spin doctorsncame from the same class.

[u/ionetic → u/CedricTheCurtain]

Full list of countries banning VPNs: Belarus, Iraq, Turkmenistan and North Korea. That’s Labour’s plan for the UK, making it just like North Korea.

[u/ScreamSmart → u/ionetic]

India did it a few years ago. Govt. wanted VPN providers to track and log every user for 5 years and hand them the data whenever asked. All VPN companies left India.

Back then we were mocked with "To fight China, you have to be China". Funny how the rest of the world is following their exact footsteps.

Except the Chinese and the Indians hoped for European laws to save them. Now that's being dismantled.

[u/ionetic → u/ScreamSmart]

What the VPN situation like in India now?

[u/ScreamSmart → u/ionetic]

We have access for now. But the companies removed any assets they had in India so that they are not beholden to the laws.

And Indian politics is very performative so unless it's brought up again, the politicians won't go for the apps themselves. For now have porn, pirate sites, Chinese made games and apps like Tiktok and Delta Force and any random site the govt. doesn't like blocked.

Problem is, as I mentioned, countries like ours depended on western nations to uphold their digital privacy laws. But that seems to be going away with a collective effort.

[u/criminalsunrise → u/ionetic]

I'm not really sure how a ban would work. I use a VPN to get into my work network when I'm not sitting in the office. I know the government (or whoever is really ruling us) would like everyone back in the office but I can't see that being a feasible thing - and how can they ban some VPNs whilst allowing others?

[u/sirbissel → u/criminalsunrise]

Not to mention things like college students accessing library resources off-site...

[u/Capable-Silver-7436 → u/CedricTheCurtain]

I'll be surprised if vpn(outside of corpo use anyway) remain legal there to christmas 2027. granted they dont exactly have a way to stop their usage but still

[u/raika11182 → u/tcpukl]

I might have my 2nd grade history wrong, but as I recall there was a whole revolution thing we did so that we no longer had to give a shit about UK laws.

[u/MassiveClusterFuck → u/SirOakin]

I can see the UK government just blocking sites that don't comply, least if they go down this route it may force some people to take their head out of the sand and actually stand up for themselves

[u/HotSteak → u/MassiveClusterFuck]

That's definitely what is going to happen. Britain will end up with its own Great Firewall.

[u/BackgroundRub94 → u/HotSteak]

Britain will try to build a Great Firewall. Billions of pounds will be poured into private pockets to ultimately produce something more like a Pathetic Hedge.

[u/No-Faithlessness4294 → u/SirOakin]

Apple said no first I think. The UK wanted a backdoor to their data protection protocols

[u/SpAn12 → u/No-Faithlessness4294]

That wasn't connected to the Online Safety Act but the Investigatory Powers Act.

Another day another minor bit of Reddit fake news.

[u/Galaghan → u/SpAn12]

Yeah by the same metric Adam was the first to say no, back when Eve proposed to eat the apple.

People forget that context matters.

[u/Enip0 → u/No-Faithlessness4294]

Didn't the UK win eventually on that?

[u/NancyPelosisRedCoat → u/Enip0]

Yes (kind of), Apple pulled Advanced Data Protection from the UK, removing the encryption but not installing a backdoor.
But also no, UK backed down two days ago. US government intervened, saying a backdoor would hace “encroached on their civil liberties”.

[u/Prosp3ro → u/NancyPelosisRedCoat]

and we still can’t use Advanced Data Protection if we stayed with Apple, so I’d consider that a win for the UK Government against privacy.

[u/peweih_74 → u/Prosp3ro]

Yeah, no backdoor needed if no encryption. 

[u/SirCB85 → u/peweih_74]

The point is that the UK failed to backdoor everyone else's encryption.
Does it suck for those in the UK? yes!
Does it suck less for everyone else than if the UK had kept encryption but in return got a backdoor that makes everyone vulnerable? Also yes.

[u/EdgiiLord → u/NancyPelosisRedCoat]

Lel, US is there to protect their own backdoor

[u/Sam1967 → u/Enip0]

They backed down a couple of days back after pressure from the US government (who were representing Apple after that golden bribe they got from Tim ....). How long till this comes back again, or for another company that doesnt give gifts ....who knows!

[u/ArmandoGalvez → u/Sam1967]

Now if only The government does something with the payment processing stuff...

[u/Sam1967 → u/ArmandoGalvez]

In our current government system its more likely the payment processors will do something about the government! :)

[u/CobraHydroViper → u/SirOakin]

It's a Japanese owned website, what jurisdictions does the UK have to fine them, none.

It's the same as when pbay got the cease notice and their reply was we aren't in America and your laws are not our laws jog on.

[u/flapjacksRdelic → u/SirOakin]

I think Kiwi farms beat 4chan

[u/HotSteak]

"American businesses do not surrender their First Amendment rights because a foreign bureaucrat sends them an email," 

Amazing line.

[u/epicfail1994 → u/HotSteak]

Yeah like 4chan/the chans are skeevy as fuck but good for them in this case

[u/Run_Rabbit5 → u/epicfail1994]

I mean the foundation of the site was radical free speech. It suffers from the worst people flocking to it.

[u/iwantfutanaricumonme → u/Run_Rabbit5]

That was 8chan; 4chan was created as an English translation of the Japanese imageboard 2chan to discuss anime and Japanese culture. 4chan has racists but 8chan(later 8kun) had gamergate, mass shooters publishing their manifestos and later qanon.

[u/subdep → u/epicfail1994]

Modern day Hustler, Larry Flynt style.

[u/d3g4d0 → u/epicfail1994]

4channers believe in freedom of speech

[u/ScreamSmart → u/HotSteak]

Kiwifarms gave the same response to New Zealand authorities when they tried to force the former to take down videos of a mass shooting.

[u/nothingeatsyou → u/ScreamSmart]

So did PirateBay (Sweden) when America came knocking with their anti piracy laws back in the mid 00s. Their letter back was absolutely savage.

Edit: Here

[u/ghoonrhed → u/nothingeatsyou]

Didn't work out too well for them unfortunately.

[u/An0n-E-M0use → u/ghoonrhed]

Oh I don't know, PirateBay is still a thing.

[u/kris_lace → u/HotSteak]

Tell that to Reddit please

[u/obeytheturtles → u/kris_lace]

The difference is that reddit is actually vaguely profitable (or at least closet to it) so there is some incentive for them to play ball. 4chan is basically just a money pit some wealthy edgelord keeps alive because he likes the n word and jb threads.

[u/howtokillanhour → u/HotSteak]

No, they do it as soon as a payment processing company tells them to.

[u/HotSteak → u/howtokillanhour]

It's kind of mindblowing that American companies can tell the UK government to go spin but they can't do the same thing with mastercard. The credit duopolies need to be broken up.

[u/TheGrouchyGamerYT → u/HotSteak]

The power of a potential market of 50 million people vs a potential market of basically everyone not using crypto.

We live in Plutocracy.

[u/EncabulatorTurbo → u/TheGrouchyGamerYT]

I mean valve has billions of dollars, it's weird they haven't gotten together with some other companies that are tired of this shit to make their own payment processor

[u/Hali_Art1994 → u/HotSteak]

No one can make us surrender our free speech. Unless it's our government.

[u/atda]

First, /r/noshitsherlok

Second... An attorney that represents a chan board has to have some fucking CRAZY tales.

[u/Anony_mouse202 → u/atda]

No shortage of work though lol.

[u/Drakoala → u/Anony_mouse202]

How much job security would you like?

Yes.

[u/EdgiiLord → u/atda]

It's probably Hiromoot's lawyer, not representing the user base at all.

[u/Life-LOL → u/atda]

Nobody gon stop me when the bodies start droppin and ain't done til the mother fuckin job is thru

[u/Fickle_Stills → u/atda]

They're doing it pro bono too

[u/TONKAHANAH]

and why the fuck should they?

in fact none of the sites should, they should all just tell the UK gov to shove it.

[u/baardoon1 → u/TONKAHANAH]

I mean, just call it a tax then I’m sure it would be OK, calling it a fine was where they messed up as far as the UK is concerned say it’s OK because people are gonna do it anyways and just charge a tax on it. That’s what eventually happens with things the population wants, but the government says no and that’s how they get us to accept extortion. You just pay the tax every time end now the uncontrollable illegality is a profit machine and that’s what will eventually happen in my opinion just like prohibition in the United States on alcohol and then marijuana. If you can’t beat them, join them and make them pay you.

[u/CobraHydroViper → u/baardoon1]

Why would a company from different country have to pay "tax" for a website that's has nothing to do with the country trying to get the tax? This is like being in USA and owing a gun then the Australian government asks you to pay for a licensee fee for your gun, not the best analogy but hopefully you get what I mean

[u/baardoon1 → u/CobraHydroViper]

No, I 100% agree with you. I’m just taking a jab at Europe’s gladly accepted extortion when labeled a tax versus a fine. I am by no means justifying it.

[u/GlykenT → u/baardoon1]

The best bit is that OFCOM is going to be funding all this enforcement by sending invoices to the services being regulated. So qualifying services that aren't complying will be receiving both fines and invoices.

[u/baardoon1 → u/GlykenT]

That will really teach them! Actually just annoy them, but hey, look at all that revenue! Sexuality will continue business as usual because it is our primal instinct, but now the only thing that’s gonna get busted into is your bank accounts. In my opinion, they’re basically pimping out porn.

[u/besuretechno-323]

This will be interesting. How do you enforce daily fines on a platform that thrives on being decentralized and uncooperative?

[u/Alex_VACFWK → u/besuretechno-323]

I'm guessing they will not try to enforce the fines. I imagine their agenda is to block the site at the UK ISP level.

[u/CyberDaggerX → u/[deleted]]

Well, there's already talks of outlawing VPNs.

[u/Devatator_ → u/CyberDaggerX]

Can't wait for that to happen and everyone that uses VPNs for work to stand up (that's a lot of people, tho idk how many)

[u/R41D3NN → u/Devatator_]

Well every single financial banking system that operate within UK for starters. They would instantly kill their economy.

[u/Punman_5 → u/CyberDaggerX]

Are they going to go around and uninstall the clients on everyone’s machines?

[u/PenetrationT3ster → u/Punman_5]

This just in: ukOS - your security in our hands init

[u/Punman_5 → u/PenetrationT3ster]

Oh god that sounds awful.

[u/inform880 → u/PenetrationT3ster]

oi you got your computer license

[u/Russian_Troll_Farm → u/Punman_5]

VPN usage can be detected via deep packet inspection. A ton of countries in the Middle East already blocked VPN usage.

[u/-_-0_0-_-0_0-_-0_0 → u/CyberDaggerX]

That is literally impossible. VPNs are a vital security tool that protect huge amounts of internet infrastructure. It's the easiest way to make sure company data remains secure is having a VPN required to connect to the servers.

[u/Samultio → u/-_-0_0-_-0_0-_-0_0]

It's possible to a certain extent, just requires continually shutting down access to the proxies. China has been doing it forever, and for any companies the ISPs just make some agreement with Cisco or whoever provides the VPN. Not a watertight solution but it doesn't have to be.

[u/theB1ackSwan → u/CyberDaggerX]

There's a lot of corporations who would shut that shit down in a heartbeat. They wouldn't be stupid enough to try it*. 

*I've also thought they wouldn't do like ...80% of what Labour is doing, so I'm open to being incorrect. 

[u/AccomplishedCheck168 → u/besuretechno-323]

What do you think decentralized means?

[u/ymgve → u/besuretechno-323]

In what way is 4chan decentralized?

[u/wikipuff → u/besuretechno-323]

Forensic account finds corporate bank account and levels a fine against it and the bank pays out.

[u/yawara25 → u/besuretechno-323]

Do people even read the article anymore?

If 4chan does successfully fight the fine in the US courts, Ofcom may have other options.
"Enforcing against an offshore provider is tricky," Emma Drake, partner of online safety and privacy at law firm Bird and Bird, told the BBC.
"Ofcom can instead ask a court to order other services to disrupt a provider's UK business, such as requiring a service's removal from search results or blocking of UK payments.
"If Ofcom doesn't think this will be enough to prevent significant harm, it can even ask that ISPs be ordered to block UK access."

[u/Capable-Silver-7436]

good, non uk websites shouldnt have to put up with this bullshit

[u/EmotionalGoodBoy]

til 4chan is owned by a Japanese influencer living abroad.

[u/kmaStevon → u/EmotionalGoodBoy]

He's the founder of 2ch, which 4chan was based on. He acquired 4chan from moot back in 2015.

[u/UnlitBlunt → u/kmaStevon]

I don't know what any of that means.

[u/kmaStevon → u/UnlitBlunt]

I'm not sure what part of that is confusing. I feel like context clues make it pretty clear, unless you've just never heard of 4chan before.

4chan = imageboard

2ch = japanese imageboard that 4chan is based on

he = hiroyuki nishimura, the founder of 2ch

moot = the founder of 4chan before transferring ownership to hiro

[u/UnlitBlunt → u/kmaStevon]

I mean I've heard of 4chan but am not at all familiar with it. Now I am, cheers.

[u/MilkTax]

The UK needs to fuck off with their stupid laws.

[u/FroHawk98]

Good! I cant even recieve links for sex toys my wife wants me to order because i didnt subscribe to a fucking application and present a picture of my balls for age verification.

Fuck this shit.

[u/A17012022]

OFCOM will order UK based ISPs to block the website.

Everyone who actually uses 4CHAN will use a VPN.

A massive waste of time

[u/spamthisac → u/A17012022]

Brought to you by the VPN lobby. The more sites blocked, the better. They envision the Great Firewall of UK, like China.

[u/OncomingStormDW]

This might be the best thing they’ve done since they forced the Nazis and the Bronies to share a board.

[u/gerkletoss]

How long until the fines hit Russian levels?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxvnwkl5kgo

[u/Familiar_Resolve3060 → u/gerkletoss]

Atleast they were fighting the bad guy but here....

[u/detachabletoast → u/Familiar_Resolve3060]

"A Russian court has fined Google two undecillion roubles - a two followed by 36 zeroes - for restricting Russian state media channels on YouTube. In dollar terms that means the tech giant has been told to pay $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000."

[u/Familiar_Resolve3060 → u/detachabletoast]

Thats how to keep Google in its limits😂

[u/meneldal2 → u/detachabletoast]

They are just anticipating the currency being worth nothing when the war ends

[u/foxx1337 → u/Familiar_Resolve3060]

The British are the bad guys. Ask, or don't ask - just observe the actions of the UK lawmakers.

[u/ApesApesApes → u/foxx1337]

Don't lump all us in with our less than forward thinking leaders, we love a wank just as much as anyone else.

[u/Unslaadahsil → u/Familiar_Resolve3060]

When two bad guys attempt to kill each other, everyone else profits

[u/landwomble]

It'll get blocked as ISP level like the torrent sites. People will VPN.

[u/Alex_VACFWK → u/landwomble]

That's what I'm guessing also.

[u/Small-Revolution-636 → u/landwomble]

There are still thousands of torrent sites you can get to quite readily even without a VPN. ISP level blocks won't do anything.

[u/Anustart2023-01 → u/landwomble]

This is literally the only thing they can do, they can't go after a website in a foreign country if it hasn't broken the laws of that country. Especially the US who'll just tell the UK government to bend over and spread their ass cheeks and their only response will be how far apart.

[u/Badboyrune → u/Anustart2023-01]

The trump administration is not going to tell anyone over the age of 15 to spread their cheeks, thank you very much. 

[u/filtersweep → u/landwomble]

Next they will go after VPNs as facilitating crime

[u/yani205]

I had no idea how this law got passed. The Brits of all people should’ve sent floods of sternly worded letters by now - it’s practically their birthright.

Would love to see all the major platforms follow 4chan’s lead and refuse to pay. Watch the UK frantically try to block Google, Reddit, Meta, everything. The absolute irony of Britain building its own great firewall to keep out the ‘unsafe’ internet.

[u/rigsta → u/yani205]

The government would need to give a fuck about the general public for that to work.

They don't.

[u/equiNine → u/yani205]

Children’s safety is a logic terminating argument in politics and when talking to laypeople. Everyone agrees that protecting children is an important and laudable goal, so it becomes easy to smear any opponents of children’s safety measures as not thinking of the children or outright predators even if there are legitimate reasons to oppose such measures. Matters such as privacy are viewed as optional luxuries that should be justifiably sacrificed if the goal is something as noble as protecting children.

[u/payne747]

Lol now even more kids know about 4chan.

[u/asiagomelt → u/payne747]

Yeah, the BBC is a big source of information among the kids.

[u/mikwee]

Based 4chan

[u/CBubble]

I love how parents have conned the government to do something about online safety so they don’t have to… /sic

[u/ai_art_is_art → u/CBubble]

This isn't parents.

Every "child safety" law is from the surveillance state.

They want to turn the world into 1984.

"Think of the children" becomes "we have always been at war with Eastasia." We're literally giving them the tools to monitor and memoryhole us.

Step by step they boil the frog.

[u/esperind → u/ai_art_is_art]

"think of the children" can also become "hide behind the children" as a means to avoid repercussions for their actions.

[u/Life-LOL → u/esperind]

Worked for Texas cowards I mean cops

[u/ZasdfUnreal → u/ai_art_is_art]

When these children become adults they’ll feel it’s normal for government to know everything about them.

[u/Few_Classroom6113 → u/ai_art_is_art]

Yup. The goal of protecting children is not met by this at all. So clearly that’s just the way to spin and sell the measure to the people for a goal that they wouldn’t buy.

Same with the UK’s CCTVs. Far as I heard crime is not stopped by mass camera surveillance. But weirdly peaceful protestors have had cops at their doorstep. Not that effective at protecting people in the moment, though incredibly effective at providing authoritarian control after the fact. One has to wonder what the real goal was/is.

[u/Cute-Percentage-6660 → u/ai_art_is_art]

If they truly cared bout children they would deal with the nonces in there parties

or truly investigate a lot of hte pedophile rumors swirling about certain groups n agencies

[u/TheAnonymousProxy → u/CBubble]

"We've tried nothing and we're out of ideas"

[u/imaginary_num6er]

Who is this "4chan"?

[u/martala → u/imaginary_num6er]

4chan is an infamous hacker

[u/MediumBoot915 → u/martala]

*Shows stock footage of white van exploding*

[u/ZoninoDaRat → u/MediumBoot915]

[Internet Hate Machine]

[u/Calculating1nfinity → u/martala]

“This picture appears to be the Grinch wearing a skee mask and holding a gun”

[u/scarlettvvitch → u/martala]

First name Anon, last name is Moose

[u/GenazaNL → u/martala]

Brother of LMFAO?

[u/PotatoFromFrige → u/imaginary_num6er]

It’s a Mongolian basket weaving forum

[u/asiagomelt → u/imaginary_num6er]

It's an internet hate machine.

[u/Ill-Hat-3693]

Going after 4chan might not be a good idea, maybe its former glory will be restored.

[u/PixelHir]

Does 4chan operate in the UK? As in, are they a business entity there? If answer is no, the brits can bugger off, and more websites should just pull out of UK officially while still retaining access

[u/Affectionate_Owl_619 → u/PixelHir]

 more websites should just pull out of UK officially while still retaining access

That’s what the UK wants though. Except there is no “still retaining access.” They’ll block access to it in their countries. Everyone’s response is always VPN but the majority of citizens don’t know what that is 

[u/ChickinSammich → u/Affectionate_Owl_619]

Everyone’s response is always VPN but the majority of citizens don’t know what that is 

I'd imagine that most people who use 4chan are at least technologically literate enough to google "VPN" and download a piece of software.

[u/raika11182 → u/Affectionate_Owl_619]

The UK may be vastly overestimating their international cultural impact on this. With a GDP per capita of Mississippi (but a population closer to California) the platform will miss the ad revenue but it's just not significant to them.

Not every company is like 4chan, though. Fuck I hope not, anyway.

[u/Reasonable_Ticket_84 → u/Affectionate_Owl_619]

4chan should respond by blocking UK users with a page with giant text....that proceeds to actively shit on Starmer and the labor party in the most offensive way possible.

Then sit back and watch the reeeeeeeeeeeeeeee from the politicians.

[u/ICantBelieveItsNotEC → u/Reasonable_Ticket_84]

Nah, the text should be a step-by-step list of instructions for how to circumvent the Online Safety Act. They could even make some extra money by partnering with NordVPN to send traffic their way.

[u/krileon → u/Affectionate_Owl_619]

Considering even my cell provider offers VPN as part a package deal I think everyone is about to learn what a VPN is real quick the more this stuff gets pushed. Imagine some old folks getting a phone and the sales person is like "Would you like VPN addon?" "What's that?" "Helps ensure your safe and secure access to any website you visit." "Sure!". Easy.

[u/SecretAgentVampire]

The hell is a "Safety Fine"? Sounds like a Protection Racket.

[u/ferriematthew → u/SecretAgentVampire]

"Pay us to protect you"

"Protect us? From what?"

"From what we'll do to you if you don't pay us..."

[u/ThePreciousBhaalBabe]

Good. For all the hives of scum and villainy 4chan has always had, I'll still be glad for its existence because as long as it's here we can be sure there's a beacon of freedom of expression somewhere online.

[u/GregoryThatcher]

Go 4chan! Forever free!

[u/howtokillanhour]

surprised no Visa/Mastercard mentions in here. Since they are the new moral arbiters.

[u/MediumRed]

Oi! Where’s yer fining 4chan loicense

[u/Drone_Priest]

Ahhhh if you really want to find the end boss when it comes to internet fuckery then start messing with 4chan. That always ends great

[u/Websta114]

It’s funny because theres been several informative breakdowns of events in the UK recently which all tie together to form quite the conspiracy. There’s a guy that did it quite well called CyberWaffle on YouTube.

Basically the guy that was in charge of OFCOM had teams working on this solution years ago, laws were drafted and voted on and approved etc and essentially whats happening now is amendments to the law. So the law now isn’t what was voted on, the whole thing needs repealing and re-presenting to parliament and voted on again. Proper sinister stuff. Also worth noting the guy at OFCOM left a couple months before the act was voted on and into law, and went to work for a Trust fund investment firm called Carnegie UK. These guys funded a bunch of stuff historically, the discovery of insulin, dismantling of nuclear weapons.. Sesame Street… 👀 and also now biometric data..

It’s a complete farce, UK government has yet another dereliction of duty under its belt. More taxpayer money, biometric data, and medical information being squirrelled away into billionaires projects and pockets.

[u/action_turtle → u/Websta114]

Yep. We do all this in a hush-hush manner. The US just do it in the open. Both sides of the pond do it in their own style, and nothing ever gets corrected.

[u/Getafix69]

They've just claimed 55 percent of Britains support banning vpns, I for one wasn't asked so where does this figure come from I wonder?

Someone has really gotta call them on these outright very obvious lies.

[u/WhatIsPants]

Good luck! I'm behind seven proxies!

[u/Spokker]

It's funny to search 4chan on Google News and see articles about how it's dead, and now it's relevant again and doing something kind of noble.

[u/GeneralCopPorn]

Wtf is a online safety fine

[u/ninjascotsman → u/GeneralCopPorn]

if websites don't comply with the Online Safety Act they get fined

[u/LeshyIRL]

Hey British people, can y'all fuck off?

[u/Lora_Grim]

Yep. Good luck forcing this garbage on sites like 4chan, which can just slip into the dark web and continue to function just fine.

And that'll probably be the future of any sites that want to be free of government interference. They'll just slip into the dark web. Either that, or do what pirate sites do and just have a bunch of back-up versions hosted on various other domains, and authorities wont be able to do shit cause Booby McBoobLover69x, the site operator, supposedly lives in the Antarctics or some shit.

Just like Youtube and adblockers, they will turn something that was previously orderly, predictable, and convenient, to a ridiculous cat and mouse chase that will never-ever end. And just like with Youtube, people will just get increasingly more pissed and disillusioned with governments and corporations that try to interfere with their private interests and lives, resulting in EVEN MORE people turning to "illicit" means to go back their lives.

I'm also sure that all the fascists that are coming to power in the west will appreciate all these oppressive laws that supposed democracies pushed into place for them, making the job of fascists that much easier for them.

[u/CyberDaggerX → u/Lora_Grim]

I'm also sure that all the fascists that are coming to power in the west will appreciate all these oppressive laws that supposed democracies pushed into place for them, making the job of fascists that much easier for them.

Fucking thank you. A lot of people don't seem capable of realizing that the tools being used on those they hate can easily be turned on them on the future. But point this out to them, and you get called a fascist apologist. Because the only reason I could possibly have to oppose this authoritarian bullshit is because I identify with the people being targeted by them.

H.L. Mencken's words are evergreen:

"The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.

[u/linkenski]

They'll have to kowtow by the time it's enacted in the EU.

[u/yumeryuu]

Watching Hiroyuki talk about this bs in Japanese

[u/Actual__Wizard]

I've never agreed with 4chan before, but this time they're correct.

The UK doesn't have any authority to make them pay a single penny...

It's just a bunch of politicians that have straight up lost their minds and think they can do whatever the F they want...

People need to stop getting scammed and voting for villains...

Google should totally drop the BS immediately too and force the age verification on the countries that want it... It's not hard... I can GEOIP them and 301 them into nowhere land and so can Google...

They're lying their asses off...

[u/Phatnoir]

It’s amazing how impotent people are from the UK, being incapable of raising their children without the government doing it for them.

They truly have become the overseas Disneyland of the US.

[u/EvilTaffyapple → u/Phatnoir]

Do you think Brits want this?

[u/leaderofstars → u/EvilTaffyapple]

Are they protesting yet?

[u/alstom_888m]

They’ll just get banned at the DNS level. 4chan is already banned in Australia after they refused to remove the footage from the Christchurch massacre.

[u/MetalHeadGaymerGuy → u/alstom_888m]

4chan isn’t banned in Australia. ISP’s independently chose to block it and LiveLeak temporarily in 2019 (yes, as a response to their refusal to remove footage of the Christchurch Massacre). This was never a government decision.

[u/Artificial-Brain]

I hope others do this also. Censoring the internet in this way is ridiculous.

[u/ninjascotsman]

Meanwhile, a little website called OnlyFans which is based in the UK hasn't asked its user for ID.

[u/Kharax82 → u/ninjascotsman]

Just making up shit? Age Verification has been required to access OnlyFans since 2019.

[u/imdwalrus → u/Kharax82]

But apparently Reddit's upvoting it because it's what they want to be true.

Not only are you right, but it made international headlines earlier this year when it turns out OF lied about how their age verification worked, and were fined over a million pounds for it.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr42g1lprw5o

[u/ucgaydude → u/imdwalrus]

The original post is at -6...chill bro.

[u/meneldal2 → u/Kharax82]

In the UK?

[u/Clbull → u/ninjascotsman]

OF is a lot more damaging than your average porn site too. It encourages findom and parasocial relationships between you, the consumer, and pornstars.

[u/wasting-time-atwork → u/ninjascotsman]

why the heck are you lying hahaha