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On Thu, 28 Aug 2025 12:29:21 +0100 Paul Sutton via list <list@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi All > > Just asking a question here regarding the UK Online Safety Act, does > this actually prevent young people from taking part in activities > such as Mission Libre, and perhaps even joining groups such as this. > > It would be useful to know where people stand on a range of issues in > respect of the act. > > Paul > ###################################################################### "Create an ordered ranked list detailing the ten most important ways that the UK Online safety act 2023 impacts on the open source community. In particular, detail the ways that considerations of safeguarding may impact on forum activity" ChatGPT said: Thought for 1m 25s Here’s a ranked, plain-English take on how the UK Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA) most affects open-source communities—especially anyone running issue trackers, mailing lists, Discord/Matrix/Slack spaces, Discourse boards, GitHub/GitLab discussions, or self-hosted forums. Scope: most OSS forums are “in scope” if they have a UK link If your service lets users post content that others can encounter (a “user-to-user service”) and you have UK users, target the UK, or pose a material risk to UK users, the OSA applies—even if you’re not UK-based or you’re tiny. Practical upshot: project forums and chat spaces count. GOV.UK inquisitiveminds.bristows.com Burges Salmon Mandatory illegal-content risk assessment (and keep records) Every in-scope service must assess risks of illegal content (e.g., CSAM, terrorism, fraud, encouragement of suicide), decide proportionate mitigations, and document/keep these under review. This drives formal moderation policies, logs, and governance in OSS communities. Legislation.gov.uk www.ofcom.org.uk A&O Shearman Enforceable “illegal harms” Codes of Practice (from Mar 17, 2025) Ofcom’s first Codes are now enforceable. Expect to resource moderation, make reporting easy, act swiftly on flagged content, and tune service design to reduce illegal harms. For OSS forums that often rely on volunteers, this is the single biggest operational change. Herbert Smith Freehills Taylor Wessing www.ofcom.org.uk Children’s safety duties (and age assurance where needed) If your service is “likely to be accessed by children,” you must assess children’s risks and use measures (including age assurance/age checks where appropriate) to stop under-18s from encountering “primary priority” harms (pornography, self-harm encouragement, etc.). Forums with student contributors or general-audience docs may need safer defaults, limited features for unverified minors, or age-gating risky areas. www.ofcom.org.uk White & Case GOV.UK Grooming/CSAM safeguards—and legal reporting to the NCA You’re expected to mitigate grooming risks (design + moderation). UK providers have a statutory duty to report detected, previously unreported CSAM/CSEA to the National Crime Agency. Forums with private messaging or invite links need clear escalation and reporting playbooks. www.ofcom.org.uk +1 Legislation.gov.uk National Crime Agency User reporting, complaints & redress systems You must provide easy-to-find reporting tools, respond to reports, and offer complaint/appeal routes. OSS maintainers will likely add visible “Report” buttons, abuse mailboxes, serviceable SLAs, and a documented appeals path—shifting forum activity toward more structured moderation workflows. www.ofcom.org.uk +1 Governance & accountable leadership (even for small services) The Codes emphasize risk management, training, and named responsibility for compliance. Expect communities to designate a lead (or committee), train moderators, and publish governance notes—formalizing what was previously ad-hoc volunteer effort. Financial Times swgfl.org.uk Terms of service & transparency duties You’re expected to explain moderation policies, apply them consistently, and balance safety with users’ rights to free expression and privacy. Many projects will revise CONTRIBUTING.md / Code of Conduct / forum rules and publish clearer enforcement guidelines. Wikipedia Territorial reach & potential geoblocking trade-offs Because “links to the UK” are enough, non-UK OSS forums may face compliance decisions. Some communities consider restricting UK access; others will comply to keep UK contributors. Either way, forum participation patterns may change. Burges Salmon Escalation powers & serious penalties raise the stakes Ofcom can fine up to £18m or 10% of global turnover and even seek access/service restriction orders for serious non-compliance. That pressure will push even hobby forums toward more conservative, safety-first moderation (e.g., quicker removals, tighter link and keyword rules). Legislation.gov.uk IT Pro What this means day-to-day for safeguarding on OSS forums Add quick “Report” on every post/DM; publish triage SLAs and escalation paths (including law-enforcement reporting for CSAM/CSEA). www.ofcom.org.uk Legislation.gov.uk Write a short illegal-content risk assessment (cover grooming, suicide encouragement, fraud, malware distribution) and keep it updated; log moderation decisions. www.ofcom.org.uk +1 If minors might use your space: consider age-gating risky categories; default to safer settings; restrict “invite-only” or image upload features for unverified minors; signpost helplines on suicide/self-harm keywords. www.ofcom.org.uk Train moderators on OSA priorities (e.g., what “encouragement of suicide” looks like) and provide a clear appeals route. www.ofcom.org.uk Document who is responsible for compliance and how to contact them; keep abuse@ monitored. Financial Times #################################################################### Not bad for 85s! fraser -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG FAQ: https://www.dcglug.org.uk/faq/