Online Safety Act

[tinfoil-hat]

How will you react if the Online Safety Act is passed in your own country? Should you take action beforehand? Where would you refer your non-tech-savvy friends and relatives so that they can safely discuss all kinds of topics without fear of the police showing up at their door? It should also be well-known enough so that they are not sent to an empty site.

Maybe we should already be pushing some alternatives to Reddit, X, P****ub, etc. pp. to our friends?

What technologies would you use? The Fediverse comes to mind.

• Mastodon
• Pleroma
• Pixelfred
• Peertube

Element / Matrix comes to mind as chat software.

I vaguely remember a Reddit alternative, but I can't think of it off the top of my head.

If VPNs are banned, how would you react? SSL VPN? SSH Socksproxy? Maybe rent Russian VPS and configure OpenVPN? Can't websites also detect when you log in with a VPN?

I'm curious to hear what you think!

Greetings

 

[APTI]

it is not a matter of if they pass such a law. I know for a fact that law enforcement already monitors all the social media. I have seen people complain about something and get a call from the police offering to help. So it already happens. Anything you put online is seen by everybody. Including law enforcement and govt.
If you want privacy and anonymity then do not use the internet. It was designed to share things. Beware what you share.

 

[Trynna3]

I second the ^. There is no true privacy on internet anymore. I have heard that even Tor was not entirely private and that FBI infiltrated the network with their servers, catching some data movement there. Gmails are scanned by google and who knows who else. Anyone using VPN risks the VPN company also monitoring their data, sometimes even selling further. You aren't really private online anymore.

And I think it isn't such a bad thing. We need to have tools to catch criminals who are trying to avoid detection. Everybody is about privacy until their child needs protection and they want to catch the culprit.

 

[tinfoil-hat]

It's not just that they can see what you're doing, there are other problems that will occur:

• Your ID gets stolen
• Creating new accounts becomes impossible with a ban and you are excluded from public services
• VPNs become highly regulated
• Excessive government surveillance and control over online behavior

 

[KGIII]

I'm going to remind folks that politics is off-limits.

That can make topics like this extremely difficult to talk about while remaining within the rules of this site. At the end of the day, that's a rule that I'm okay with, even if it does sometimes hamper discussion of important topics (such as this one).

There are other sites where you can openly discuss politics and topics like this are covered.

I will remark on 'Tor'. Tor is still amazingly secure, so long as you're smart about it. That security is lessened if you use Tor to access the public internet. People hosing content in the .onion realm are caught because they make mistakes in their OpSec. If you use Tor to access the public web, you're looking at being tracked with something called a 'timing attack'. Basically, they see your packets going in and going out and can judge by the time to make reasonable guesses about your location.

Unfortunately, from what I've found, the Tor network is largely a cesspool and finding meaningful discussion is not easy.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

From what I've been googling out "online safety act" applies to UK, but even if it applied to entire world it would not influence me in any way because I don't use big social platforms that are already heavily censored and full of BS anyway.

the online safety act targets social platforms not its users, it to my understanding requires platform owners to remove harmful content and to limit who can access the platform, but this doesn't take away your internet freedom to act elsewhere away from social platforms.

 

[Trynna3]

@CaffeineAddict
I mostly agree. The law has been blown out of proportions by youtubers aiming to cash in on the content and panic. I haven't watched many of such videos.
But I understand that uploading and ID and promises it will be deleted from databases - it may not happen 100% as advertised.
But on the other hand, our data has been going back and forth on the web, countless hacks here and there, my pension fund got raided some 3 years ago, including my personal data. Various data removal services promise to delete our data from internet, which is a scam IMO, as they can do nothing about the dark web where our data also goes, and they cannot force legal and other institutions to delete our data, like they ask with legal letters (like please please) the data brokers. People paying for this are paying more for a placebo. Some provide info if the personal data were spotted on the dark web, but assuming my data is there already I don't need to pay anybody to tell me that.
We have progressed into the society where we are trying to protect the vulnerable on the web and that means sacrificing some of our privacy, all of us. It always comes down to a simple rule that freedoms of one end where freedoms of others begin. We need to learn to live with that.
Besides, I only used a VPN as a trial once, part of my Norton package. It made browsing slow. And at the end of the day, you just shift trust with your data from one company to another. And everybody wants your data these days.

 

[f33dm3bits]

From what I've been googling out "online safety act" applies to UK, but even if it applied to entire world it would not influence me in any way because I don't use big social platforms that are already heavily censored and full of BS anyway.

How does the saying go, give them an inch and they will take a mile. It goes for this as well. They will abuse this for taking away more freedoms in the name of the safety for the children and safety against terrorism. It's not going to stop at just this.

No, the UK’s Online Safety Act Doesn’t Make Children Safer Online

Young people should be able to access information, speak to each other and to the world, play games, and express themselves online without the government making decisions about what speech is permissible. But in one of the latest misguided attempts to protect children online, internet users of...

www.eff.org

 

[CaffeineAddict]

They will abuse this for taking away more freedoms in the name of the safety for the children and safety against terrorism. It's not going to stop at just this.

Long time ago and up to now I had some feeling that one day every person accessing the internet will require some sort of ID or government issued access token that let's them go online, in turn fully revealing their identity, it looks like my suspition is becoming true and only a matter of time.

But I'm sure there will always be ways to circumvent it.

 

[KGIII]

Long time ago and up to now I had some feeling that one day every person accessing the internet will require some sort of ID or government issued access token that let's them go online, in turn fully revealing their identity, it looks like my suspition is becoming true and only a matter of time.

This has been proposed in a few countries, as memory serves. The idea generally being that they'd swipe their national ID in a USB card reader and that would authenticate them and give them access to the 'net.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

This has been proposed in a few countries, as memory serves. The idea generally being that they'd swipe their national ID in a USB card reader and that would authenticate them and give them access to the 'net.

That's already taking place in my country although it applies only to websites controlled by our government e.g. if we want to request some document online so that it's valid the same way as if going personally there.

However ID card trough card reader is optional (most expensive and most secure), another 2 options are digital certificates or a password issued by financial institution which is the lest secure but free.
Our ID's already have a chip on them for those who want to buy a card reader.

The aim of this initiative however was not online safety but rather to deal with bureaucratic issues e.g. long waiting lines.

 

[Trynna3]

That's already taking place in my country although it applies only to websites controlled by our government e.g. if we want to request some document online so that it's valid the same way as if going personally there.

However ID card trough card reader is optional (most expensive and most secure), another 2 options are digital certificates or a password issued by financial institution which is the lest secure but free.
Our ID's already have a chip on them for those who want to buy a card reader.

The aim of this initiative however was not online safety but rather to deal with bureaucratic issues e.g. long waiting lines.

yep, electronic signature allows you to access your official correspondence everywhere in the world, no need to travel to the home country to pay a visit to the institution or have expensive letters sent to you back and forth to sign.
This is the future, and obviously, crooks will find out how to abuse it. Like with anything.

 

[KGIII]

The aim of this initiative however was not online safety but rather to deal with bureaucratic issues e.g. long waiting lines.

I'm afraid my response would be too political in nature, and entirely speculative about the future.

So, it lacks both context and merit as a public comment here on this site.

Though, to be fair, I've been quite cavalier when it comes to my identity. I'm in a fortunate position where it does't really concern me a great deal. At the same time, and as always, I can see why people would personally feel otherwise. I think we should err on the side of those who think otherwise, rather than my own actions.

 

[f33dm3bits]

This is the future, and obviously, crooks will find out how to abuse it. Like with anything.

The crooks are the people who are wanting to implement this.

 

[Trynna3]

The crooks are the people who are wanting to implement this.

On the other hand, what was the life like, before we had internet and you had to show your ID to the institutions to deal with them? People in the village/town knew your face and knew you wherever you moved. Unless they didn't and you were free to go everywhere.
Most of that is still there. Leave the phone at home and go for a walk. Or drive yourself somewhere. Cameras will catch your number plate, but you still have cash and can buy yourself a coffee without anybody noticing anything.
Unless in specific circumstances, nobody is forcing you to use internet and get tracked. Like in the good ol' times.

 

[f33dm3bits]

On the other hand, what was the life like, before we had internet and you had to show your ID to the institutions to deal with them?

It being digital they will abuse this for other things as well. Why because of data collection, back in the 90's they could just ask for your id and it wouldn't be registered in some database. They will go above and beyond with this.

Unless in specific circumstances, nobody is forcing you to use internet and get tracked. Like in the good ol' times.

It's not possible here to live without internet because all the basic services needed to live only provide service via internet. That includes payment, requesting to have a new Electricity provider etc.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

The crooks are the people who are wanting to implement this.

I think if there is agenda to control people accessing and using internet then it can't be implemented over night, so the governments go little by little, preparing people.

ID cards having chips for instance is just 1 step.
Only Safety Act is another step.

And so on little by little people will already get used to it so implementing total control should have less of an impact on public opinion.

You get the idea..

 

[Brickwizard]

Anyone remember the US TV series Persons of interest...
well we are not far off that now, the latest speed cameras in the UK can not only tell your speed from nearly a mile away, but as you get closer can detect if you are using a mobile phone or do not have your seat belt on [along with if the vehicle is taxed, insured or has any necessary safety inspection, and if the registered owner has a valid licence.

 

[f33dm3bits]

You get the idea..

Yes I do, while there are still plenty of people in denial.

 

[Trynna3]

On a remotely relevant note, maybe the social media will have the chance to use this law for something actually beneficial and vet the accounts?