Government Security or National Threat?
A recent petition to repeal the Online Safety Act surfaced with more than 350,000 signatures. Yesterday, the Government came out with a statement ensuring the remain of the Online Safety Act, with no plans to repeal the act.
The Government are working closely with Ofcom to implement the Act, in a road-map designed to protect UK users, online in the digital scape. However, is this pushing the boundaries of freedom online?
Websites like Reddit are now using various companies, such as Persona to enforce age verification checks. Persona is a US-based organisation which will obtain and hold record of the identification and information of thousands of British nationals.
Digital age checks can lead to “security breaches, privacy intrusion, errors, digital exclusion and censorship,” according to Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch.
Data breaches are prominent, they happen to the largest, most popular online-platforms, places you believe you are secure. In May, of 2025, Adidas had customer data stolen in a cyber attack.
If large retailers are suffering cyber attacks, what is stopping the same occurring to the same websites, or third-party providers requesting your personal information?
Pornography sites are rightfully targeted to limit exposure to younger children. However, have we taken the correct approach? Free virtual private network (VPN) apps have become widely downloaded, seeing a massive spike.
One of the more popular apps, Proton VPN have issued a statistic on X.
‘Just a few minutes after the Online Safety Act went into effect last night, Proton VPN signups originating in the UK surged by more than 1,400%. Unlike previous surges, this one is sustained, and is significantly higher than when France lost access to adult content.’
The use of virtual private network (VPN) applications raises another cause for concern. Many will offer their services for free, but will have weaker encryption and potential privacy concerns.
Although, some people may not opt-in for using a virtual private network (VPN) and instead will seek out access to pornography in darker, unregulated corners of the internet. A wave of illicit pornographic websites with no age requirement checks, and no moderation.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle had posted on X, stating the following in response to Reform leader, Nigel Farage.
This comes in light of Peter Kyle’s comments about Nigel Farage on Sky News, “Make no mistake if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today he would be perpetrating his crimes online – and Nigel Farage is on their side.”
In an ignorant statement, those who wish to be kept safe and secure on the internet with the assurance of no risk to their information are on the side of predators. This includes the hundreds of thousands of signatures included in the petition.
Peter Kyle has seemingly failed to find the flaws of an Act, and in turn, has claimed that you’ve pledged allegiance to predators and pedophiles.
Can we be certain this is the correct step forward? In our democracy, is this what the people want going forward and what other measures will the Government take in response to the loop-holes used and can they provide assuring protection for the public in the events of a data breach?