Feed: Slashdot
Feed Link: https://slashdot.org/
---

Title: Wikipedia Legally Challenges UK's 'Flawed' Online Safety Rules

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/05/08/1627...

Wikipedia is taking legal action against the UK's new Online Safety Act
regulations it says could threaten the safety of its volunteer editors and
their ability to keep harmful content off the site. From a report: The
Wikimedia Foundation -- the non-profit which supports the online
encyclopaedia -- is seeking a judicial review of rules which could mean
Wikipedia is subjected to the toughest duties required of websites under the
act. Lead counsel Phil Bradley-Schmieg said it was "unfortunate that we must
now defend the privacy and safety of Wikipedia's volunteer editors from
flawed legislation." The government told the BBC it was committed to
implementing the act but could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings. It's
thought this is the first judicial review to be brought against the new
online safety laws - albeit a narrow part of them - but experts say it may
not be the last. "The Online Safety Act is vast in scope and incredibly
complex," Ben Packer, a partner at law firm Linklaters, told the BBC. The law
would inevitably have impacts on UK citizens' freedom of expression and other
human rights, so as more of it comes into force "we can expect that more
challenges may be forthcoming," he told the BBC.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

---
VRSS v2.1.180528