iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

#openweb

8 posts

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Lib Dem peer Baroness Benjamin has introduced a Bill that would require anyone operating a social media platform available to UK users to obtain a licence from Ofcom: Social Media Platforms (Ofcom Licensing) Bill bills.parliament.uk/bills/4285/s... HT @alecmuffett.bsky.social #techpolicy #openweb

Meaning of social media platform

For the purposes of this Act, a "social media platform" means a platform which—
(a) has the sole or significant purpose of enabling users to create, share, discover or consume user-generated content;
(b) enables users to discover, interact with or follow the content or accounts of users other than those with whom they communicate privately.

210

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Nudity scanning tech will leave us more exposed www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/nudity-... post from ORG I see what they did there Context www.gov.uk/government/n... #techpolicy #dataprotection #childrights #openweb

010

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The Government press release: UK to have world's strongest online child safety laws as government prepares legislation on nude images www.gov.uk/government/n... No supportive quote from the SafeToNet chap in this one, for some reason #techpolicy #childrights #censorship #openweb

The new laws will be based on the principles that:

● It must be impossible for anyone under the age of 18 to take, view or send nude images. This means images must be blocked across all device features, including the camera and third-party apps.

● Parents and carers should not have to take active steps to prevent children from consuming nude content. Nudity detection filters must be switched on by default.

● The only way for any user to take, view or send nude images should be for an adult to verify their age through a robust age-assurance process.

210

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Lisa Nandy's statement on protecting children online www.gov.uk/government/s... The UK Government is doubling down on device-level censorship despite the HarmBlock/SafeToNet debacle #techpolicy #childrights #openweb

Since June, officials from my department and the Home Office have overseen an unprecedented work programme with Apple and Google, working with senior leaders and engineers to explore new ways of preventing child sexual abuse and strengthening protections for children online.

I can report that - following this engagement - Apple and Google have provided the government with significant commitments.

Both companies have developed meaningful changes at the operating-level to make it harder for children to share nude imagery, we have seen progress in the blocking – not blurring – of nude imagery on underage devices, and this builds on significant milestones already in implementation - Apple's recent rollout earlier this year of operating-system level age assurance tied to safety features, preventing a child from receiving or sharing nude imagery on iMessage or Facetime.

8127

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Guidance on Using CC Licenses in an AI Ecosystem creativecommons.org/2026/09/03/g... from @creativecommons.bsky.social #IPlaw #techpolicy #genAI #opendata #openweb

The retreat toward restrictions has real costs. When people share content under more restrictive terms, the result is a more limited pool of publicly accessible resources (or commons) for all of us. This means less material is available for researchers, educators, archivists, and the public interest uses that depend on open access.

With that in mind, decisions around open sharing must not be taken lightly. Given that copyright exceptions often mean CC license restrictions don't apply to AI use in the first place, using a more restrictive license isn't effective in preventing it. In fact, a more restrictive license may prevent the exact types of human sharing and reuse licensors are hoping to allow, while at the same time putting no restrictions against AI use. As a result, we continue to guide communities to share as openly as they can, using CC licenses and tools to the extent that it is consistent with their values and goals.

010

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

From The Times: Andy Burnham to press ahead with social media ban for under-16s www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/... (£) It's like it's the exact same government #socialmediaban #childrights #openweb

Andy Burnham will press ahead with plans to ban social media for under-16s next year and overnight curfews for older teenagers aged 16 and 17, the government has confirmed.

The ban, previously announced by Sir Keir Starmer, will be implemented by the spring. The plans will be modelled on Australia's approach, which includes a ban on TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat and Reddit.

Ministers are planning to go further than Australia by introducing stronger age verification requirements for social media companies.

Sir Keir Starmer previously announced the ban in June.

031

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Anna's Archive Owes $340 Million, Lost Several Domains, but It's Still Online torrentfreak.com/annas-archiv... annas-archive.gl #IPlaw #webarchiving #shadowlibraries #openweb

Looking more broadly at the enforcement action that has taken place over the past months, we see that U.S. courts have run into their jurisdictional borders on the Internet.

This likely comes as a disappointment for rightsholders, but it also offers a clear takeaway.

U.S. courts can't reach domains registered beyond their jurisdiction. That's likely to increase calls for site-blocking legislation, a measure the industry has long favored and that remains high on the political agenda in the United States.

000

Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

CMA has published annexes to Google's response to its consultation on conduct requirements for Google search services www.gov.uk/government/c... (scroll down) The annexes provide detail on Google's Site Reputation Abuse Policy, SafeSearch, and transparency re ranking criteria #openweb #techpolicy

000