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'No Plans to Repeal the Online Safety Act' – UK Government Responds to Age Verification Backlash

UNITED KINGDOM, AUG 01 – The U.K.'s Online Safety Act mandates age verification on over 6,000 websites to protect minors, prompting privacy concerns and a petition with 450,000 signatures seeking repeal.

  • The United Kingdom began enforcing mandatory online age verification under the 2023 Online Safety Act last week to block minors from explicit content.
  • The Act was developed by previous Conservative governments, passed in 2022, and embraced by the Starmer government despite widespread Labour opposition.
  • The new law extends to many platforms including social media and streaming services, triggering daily millions of age checks and increased VPN demand for privacy.
  • Support for the law dropped from 80% before rollout to 69% recently, while over 460,000 Britons have signed a petition calling for repeal amid privacy and censorship concerns.
  • The UK government insists it has no plans to repeal the Act and is working with Ofcom for full, proportionate implementation despite mounting public backlash.
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Lean Left

Age verification: Since last week, online platforms have been required to check the age of British users before showing porn. This verification is still faltering.

·Netherlands
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Right

In the UK, a draconian online law has been in force for a few days with the Online Safety Act, which is not only a tougher procedure ... The post When the pizza service asks for ID: the absurd excesses of the Online Safety Acts appeared first on Apollo News.

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The Telegraph broke the news in London, United Kingdom on Thursday, July 31, 2025.
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