- UK Parliament held debate on Online Safety Act (OSA)
- This comes after a petition challenging the law amassed 500,000 signatures.
- Most MPs agreed that the OSA should not be repealed and suggested stricter rules
After officially becoming law in October 2023, the Online Safety Act returned to the UK Parliament yesterday after a petition calling for its repeal gained more than half a million signatures.
The petition argued that the law “is far broader and more restrictive than is necessary in a free society.” However, most MPs suggested that rather than repealing it, the legislation should be strengthened.
Britons have long been concerned about the Online Safety Act’s potential to encourage online censorship, and have repeatedly highlighted the negative impact that mandatory age checks could have on privacy and security.
Despite not leading to immediate changes, the debate provided an opportunity for MPs to question the government on the implementation of the law. Here are the main conclusions.
What MPs say about age verification
The majority of MPs taking part in yesterday’s debate argued that the OSA is a crucial piece of legislation to protect children online. However, some parliamentarians raised some challenges around its implementation.
Specifically, lawmakers discussed concerns about free speech and referenced examples of political speech that is unnecessarily restricted by age.
“What is or is not age-restricted needs to be much clearer, more consistent and more proportionate,” said independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, Iqbal Mohamed.
Some MPs also echoed concerns from experts and citizens about the negative impact of age verification on privacy, with Victoria Collins, a Liberal Democrat MP, arguing that “age assurance systems also pose a problem for data protection and privacy.”
But MPs seemed to agree that none of these challenges justified real discussion about the future of the law. Instead, the focus remained on perfecting how the law is implemented.
One particular area of focus was the use of VPN apps.
While many people have flocked to the best VPN apps to protect their privacy, lawmakers have expressed concern that children could use these apps to evade controls. As a result, the UK Lords last week proposed banning VPNs for children.
It is clear from the debate that lawmakers will continue to monitor VPN use and have not ruled out introducing stricter rules against VPN providers next year.
Encryption: not one of the main concerns of parliamentarians
Beyond age verification, digital rights advocates and technologists remain concerned about provisions that have not yet been fully implemented, warning that they could pose a significant risk to end-to-end encryption.
UK regulator Ofcom has already shared plans to expand file monitoring in 2026, expanding requirements to detect illegal material on more online services, regardless of whether they are encrypted.
Speaking to TechRadar before the debate, Jemimah Steinfeld, executive director of Index on Censorship, warned that end-to-end encryption could be compromised in the future. “These apps are a lifesaver. Even setting aside the high price dissidents would pay if they lost that privacy, the average person should have it as a natural right,” Steinfeld said.
Yesterday’s debate only briefly touched on this point, suggesting that parliamentarians do not share the same concerns as experts. Milton Keynes Central Labor MP Emily Darlington referred to “simple technological solutions” that supposedly prevent breaching encryption. However, security researchers have repeatedly argued that such tools, similar to those proposed in the EU, would fundamentally undermine encrypted systems.
What’s next?
The recent debate did not mark a turning point for the Online Safety Act (OSA). Lawmakers have shown no intention to repeal the legislation, nor do they appear willing to abandon its most controversial provisions. However, the proceedings provided valuable insights into parliamentarians’ current priorities.
The risks associated with algorithmic amplification and generative AI appear to be the main focus of policymakers in the future. However, as many MPs acknowledged, there are still significant problems with the current implementation of the law. While continued dialogue is a positive sign, words alone may not be enough to bring about real change.
Callum Voge, director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Internet Society, told TechRadar that the debate alone is unlikely to prompt a rethink. “This week’s debate alone will not be enough to reopen the controversial provisions,” Voge said. “There will need to be continued public pressure on these issues to ensure that concerns are truly heard and addressed.”
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