2d ago

What's it like with the Online Safety Act in effect?

American here (yes, yes, boo hiss etc). I admittedly just learned about the online safety act and listened to an American podcaster talk about it like the sky is falling. Is it over there? What's it practically like?

7 comments

So far there's nothing I've been age-checked for that I can't go without. If I need to, I'll get a VPN or Death Stranding 2, but there's no way I'm uploading my ID or portrait for any of these checks.
It's been so irritating accessing the few tiny niche subreddits I still used that I've bitten the bullet and redacted all my comments and posts there and deleted my accounts which is nice.
The instance I was on Lemmy originally blocked access to the UK so I've joined a UK centric one. Ironically lemmynsfw still works fine.
In an effort to curb usage of online porn I'd already stopped accessing anything online anyway and actually bought a couple magazines for personal time instead which is a strangely nostalgic experience.
All in all, it hasn't been much of a personal inconvenience. Anecdotally, VPN subscriptions are up.
I've honestly not noticed. I've haven't been age checked on anything I use so far. Famous last words, right?! 🤣
Mostly haven't noticed yet. Bluesky has a warning that I'll need to verify my age if I want to access certain materials. I can't remember their exact phrasing. I've tried checking a few porn sites, and they either ask me to get verified, or they redirect me, but setting a VPN to another country works immediately so far.
I haven't come across any issues with political content yet, but apparently some Reddit subs have been restricted.
There was a bloke in the pub on Saturday going from table to table selling USB Sticks of "grotography", in the same way that people used to sell pirated DVDs and stuff. I'm not sure what was specifically on them, or whether they were legit.
He definitely sold some.
- Ha, I'm imagining he's got a trench coat on with the goods hidden. It amuses me that an old school black market may emerge from this.
The only thing that I’ve encountered was on Reddit. I could read and comment but when I went into settings to view some saved items I got stuck until I’d uploaded a photo ID. I’d have thought that it should have happened earlier when I logged in.

7 comments