American politics may be a complete nightmare right now, but spare a thought for the Brits. Today, the island nation is waking up, brewing a refreshing cup of tea, and logging on to their favorite websites to discover – to their horror – the government has blocked them from accessing them.
From midnight last night, the Online Safety Act came into force, a law that mandates rigorous age-checking procedures for any site that hosting content considered inappropriate for children. At the top of the list is blocking adult content, but the Act also applies to any site hosting material considered to encourage or promote: eating disorders, self-harm, suicide, “enabling bullying”, encouraging the use of harmful substances, and “dangerous stunts”.
