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It's an interesting thing but I think their specific concerns are somewhat overcooked. As another commenter pointed out in the earlier thread: https://news.yco
by exasperaited 1y ago
It's an interesting thing but I think their specific concerns are somewhat overcooked.
As another commenter pointed out in the earlier thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44721712 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44721712
> The categorisation regulations are a statutory instrument rather than primary legislation, so they _are_ open to judicial review. But the Wikimedia foundation haven't presented an argument as to why the regulations are unlawful, just an argument for why they disagree with them.
Ofcom's SI could simply be modified to exclude research texts, and it could even be modified to exclude Wikipedia specifically; there's no obvious problem with that considering its scale and importance.
If you go through Ofcom's checker:
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/check https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-c...
The answers are 1) yes, 2) yes, 3) no, 4) probably "No, but...", 5) no, 6) no.
But the answer to getting out of the problem entirely might be to change the answer to question 6 -- that is, register Wikipedia as an education provider in the UK (since it is already used in that capacity).
I mean Wikipedia have actually exhibited at BETT, the main educational tech show here; Jimmy Wales did a keynote.
- Kim_Bruning 1y ago> And it could even be modified to exclude Wikipedia specifically; That's certainly a potential workaround. But carve outs often mean that similar communities become hard to create!
- exasperaited 1y agoI don't doubt that. But again, it is secondary legislation. It's highly amenable to ministerial and parliamentary scrutiny, and it will be amended.
- vidarh 1y agoThat is exactly the problem. It's unpredictable, and in the hand of a government with a serious authoritarian and pro-censorship attitude.
- Kim_Bruning 1y agoI get the feeling that that's why Wikimedia UK is taking this particular course.
- varispeed 1y agoAlso creates system for brown envelopes, so only well connected to the establishment could get an exemption.