#onlinesafety

Talk of sorting out toxic social media is hot air without action. Despite the likes of X, Meta and YouTube having business models that fuel harms, we have to be on them to hear from the UK government. Back our call for public sector use of decentralised, federated platforms. https://peertube.openrightsgroup.org/w/nu9rv6fAUTWQUoQRKc5V6Z Write your MP ➡️ https://action.openrightsgroup.org/tell-your-mp-government-must-move-away-toxic-social-media-platforms #mastodon #fediverse #bluesky #socialmedia #onlinesafety #ukpolitics #ukpol

The UK social media ban is coming. That means every adult having to show their ID to get online. Age verification puts privacy at risk. Curbs freedom of expression. And simply doesn't work to keep kids safe online. The government needs to change course. But the clock is ticking. Sign the petition ⬇️ https://action.openrightsgroup.org/say-no-id-online-access #ageverification #privacy #freedomofexpression #onlinesafety #socialmediaban #ukpolitics #ukpol #digitalrights

How do you filter out the slop? 🔍 Follow @journalism@loops.video for more   By @newslitproject on IG #aislop #medialiteracy #news #onlinesafety #fyp

I recently came across a disturbing story in the Korean online community. According to the person involved, someone had collected years’ worth of their old social media posts, traced information about their offline identity, and eventually contacted their workplace with screenshots and other material. They later had to explain those posts at work. Whatever the original dispute was, it made me think again about how easily ordinary social media can turn into something much more invasive. A post can be deleted, but you never really know whether somebody has already saved it. A few harmless pieces of information, accumulated over several years, can also reveal far more about someone than we expect. #Mastodon #Fediverse #OnlineSafety #Privacy #CommunityGuidelines #Mustard

So I’ve revised the community rules for Mustard, the Mastodon server I run. We now have a clearer rule against using information gathered through the server to track someone’s identity, collect personal information, or interfere with their offline life by contacting employers, schools, family members, or other third parties in order to harm them. This is not a blanket ban on screenshots. Screenshots can be necessary for reporting harassment or preserving evidence. What matters is how that information is used. I also took this opportunity to rewrite the rest of our rules and finish translating all of them into English. Mustard is a small “Mustard Planet” shared by people with different interests and backgrounds. I want it to be a place where people can talk freely, set boundaries, keep some distance when necessary, and still feel safe being themselves. 🌱🪐 You can read the updated Mustard server rules here: https://mustard.blog/about #Mastodon #Fediverse #OnlineSafety #Privacy #CommunityGuidelines #Mustard

An update on how we confirm your age group on Discord https://discord.com/blog/safer-for-teens-same-discord-for-adults #HackerNews #Tech #OnlineSafety

The EU Kids Act "changes the fundamental open nature of the internet and makes it a permission-based system where you are required to pass through an identity checkpoint to access information. Imposing the same complex compliance requirements on [small] services risks pushing them out." ORG's @JamesBaker@social.openrightsgroup.org https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366650306/Tech-companies-under-fire-as-Europe-proposes-social-media-ban-for-under-15s#eu #ageverification #privacy #StopKillingtheInternet #eukidsact #SOTEU #politics #onlinesafety

Now it's official: On Thursday, the EU Commission will propose a new law they call the #KIDSAct. It will ban young people from a range of different online services and be enforced by the Commission themselves. What a waste of political capital and legislative resources. https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-to-propose-new-legislation-on-minors-protection-on-thursday/ #MinorsProtection #ChildRights #OnlineSafety #DigitalRights

We can protect kids online without hard-coding surveillance into everyone’s device. An opt-in mechanism for parents and people who choose to use this tech is a more proportionate response. The focus should be on educational methods, and specialised policing of sextortion and child abuse offences. #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

Nudity blocking works by scanning ALL your content. The privacy implications are huge. And the same goes for the alternative: having to submit your sensitive data in the form of ID uploads or biometric scans to verify you're over 18. Meanwhile, the age verification industry remains unregulated. #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

Don't believe the hype, we've just had a warning about supposedly ‘safe by design’ tech. The HMD Fuse child-safety phone was taken off sale after serious security vulnerabilities were discovered. This includes flaws which could expose a child’s live location and allow protections to be disabled. https://www.ft.com/content/670b2b1d-7e4c-480e-9ed4-9f7f095d7860?syn-25a6b1a6=1 #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

Nudity doesn't necessarily mean sexual. It can be for medical purposes, journalism or artistic expression. Think life drawing, historic documentation like the 'Napalm girl', breast-feeding support or sex education. Any scanning tech carries risks of false positives and weaponised false negatives. #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

It won't end with nudes. Once content-scanning software is on your device, it could be expanded to other categories and into private communications. An end-to-end encrypted app such as WhatsApp or Signal could be prevented from delivering a message based on an automated assessment of its content. #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

Cover your bits, the UK government wants to put scanning tech on your phone. The aim? To prevent kids receiving and sending nudes. But it'll be there as default for everyone, unless you go through age verification to disable it. It's a disproportionate move that'll compromise privacy and security. Read our blog ⬇️ https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/nudity-scanning-tech-will-leave-us-more-exposed/ #privacy #surveillance #onlinesafety #ageverification #ukpolitics #ukpol

FACEBOOK IS TOXIC. META IS AWFUL. WHY CONTINUE FEEDING IT? 💎 Nearly everyone complains about Facebook and Meta. The algorithms are toxic. The advertising is invasive. The outrage is manufactured. CHILDREN ARE BEING HARMED. Privacy is disappearing. And then millions of people open Facebook or Instagram. Again. And again. I genuinely do not understand it. If you believe these companies are damaging children, manipulating attention, and making billions from human vulnerability, why are you still giving them your presence? Especially the parents. If Facebook and Instagram are unhealthy for your children, what exactly are you modeling by remaining there yourself? “We know this place is harmful, darling, but Mummy and Daddy have photographs to look at.” I left Meta years ago. I didn’t die. My friends did not evaporate. Civilization continued. There is email. There are phones. THERE IS THE OPEN WEB. There is even the terrifying possibility of seeing another human being, god forbid, in person. Meta survives because people who complain about it continue supplying exactly what it needs: Their attention. Their relationships. Their outrage. THEIR CHILDREN. You do not have to wait for Zuckerberg to become a better person. You can simply leave today. The door swings both ways. #Facebook #Meta #Instagram #SocialMedia #Algorithms #BigTech #DigitalWellbeing #OnlineSafety #ChildSafety #Privacy #AttentionEconomy #TechEthics #SocialMediaAddiction #Zuckerberg #DeleteFacebook

Please sign and share this petition: Compel social media companies operating in the UK to make algorithms transparent. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/775614 #music #musicians #UKtech #DigitalRightsUK #TechReform #OnlineSafety

Indonesia blocked millions of child accounts on social media, but Danica Radovanović, Ph.D. warns: True safety isn’t just a numbers game. Kids just move to other, less regulated spaces. We need cross-platform solutions and transparency! #OnlineSafety #ChildProtection

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert says online vitriol at players is 'unacceptable' https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7450861/2026/07/16/wnba-commissioner-cathy-engelbert-comments-online-vitriol/ #Sports #WNBA #OnlineSafety

VPNs are safe... for now 🛡️ The UK government has backed down on restricting this vital cybersecurity tool. Alongside the announcement of a social media curfew for 16 and 17 year olds comes a win for privacy! Plans to age-gate or restrict VPNs have been dropped, but we're not complacent to future risks. We'll continue fighting to protect VPNs. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jul/14/uk-16-17-year-olds-midnight-social-media-curfew #vpn #cybersecurity #privacy #onlinesafety #ukpolitics #ukpol