Wikipedia Operator Loses Court Challenge To UK Online Safety Act Regulations (reuters.com)
- Reference: 0178642562
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/08/11/144202/wikipedia-operator-loses-court-challenge-to-uk-online-safety-act-regulations
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/wikipedia-operator-loses-court-challenge-uk-online-safety-act-regulations-2025-08-11/
> The Wikimedia Foundation took legal action at London's High Court over regulations made under the law, which it said could impose the most stringent category of duties on Wikipedia.
>
> The foundation said if it was subject to so-called Category 1 duties -- which would require Wikipedia's users and contributors' identities to be verified -- it would need to drastically reduce the number of British users who can access the site. Judge Jeremy Johnson dismissed its case on Monday, but said the Wikimedia Foundation could bring a further challenge if regulator Ofcom "(impermissibly) concludes that Wikipedia is a Category 1 service".
[1] https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/wikipedia-operator-loses-court-challenge-uk-online-safety-act-regulations-2025-08-11/
Just take down ... (Score:2)
... the page about [1]Prince Andrew [wikipedia.org] and all will be forgiven.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Andrew_%26_the_Epstein_Scandal
Re: (Score:2)
> ... the page about [1]Prince Andrew [wikipedia.org] and all will be forgiven.
Heh, maybe so. I propose a compromise: in the US we can make sure all our celebrity diddlers are identified on wikipedia as well.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Andrew_%26_the_Epstein_Scandal
Read-only forks ahead? (Score:1)
1) Wikimedia blocks access from the UK unless you are logged in with a verified identity.
2) Other entities around the world, acting independently from each other and (except for the data-copying) independently of Wikimedia, create read-only forks but cap their usage so none of them have to comply with the "Category 1 duties."
Why read-only? Because what would be the point of a "writeable" fork if the edits would be over-written with the next refresh?
Re: (Score:2)
Wikimedia blocks access from the UK unless you are logged in
How about: Wikimedia closes operations in the UK, but nothing prevents UK users from accessing overseas websites, so they ignore the UK "requirements" and everything keeps working until such time as the UK government decides to take actions to ban access to Wikipedia from the UK.
Link to ruling (Score:3)
[1]https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-co... [judiciary.uk] Can we please normalize links to the original source in the summary?
[1] https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Wikimedia-Foundation-and-another-v-Secretary-of-State-for-Science-Innovation-and-Technology.pdf
Radicalize the moderates. (Score:5, Insightful)
Just shut down Wikipedia for the UK.
You only need a few big sites to do the same to get the UK government to reconsider this dystopian law.
Re:Radicalize the moderates. (Score:4, Interesting)
Agree as a British Citizen. Though I fear now the only way to get the public to really get behind a repeal is a data-protection failure on the scale of the Horizon Post Office system to make it happen.
Re: (Score:2)
I agree with this in theory, but our government is such a shit-show and either don't have a clue how to run the country or are doing all this damage to satisfy some even bigger cunts with a lot of money.
It's sad that this won't be the last such terrible law, it'll spread to the US and other places much like all the corrosive copyright stuff did at the turn of the millennium.
Re:Radicalize the moderates. (Score:4, Funny)
Well, if your government is a shitshow, it just means your people need to vo--
Sigh. Why, yes, I am an American. Why do you a--
[hangs head in shame] Ok, fair enough. I'll shut the fuck up now.
Re: Radicalize the moderates. (Score:2)
The Act was passed in October 2023, but let's not allow facts to get in the way of knee jerk rants.
Re: (Score:3)
Reading the article *gasp* it seems this isn't the end of the road, it's still up to the government/communications regulator to figure out where Wikipedia sits on the risk scale and thus what kinds of safeguards they might or might not need to implement.
Re: (Score:1)
Honestly, the UK government is clueless about technology. Just cut us off.