You might not know, but recent changes to UK laws require all sites accessible from the UK to carry out a mountain of paper work : https://onlinesafetyact.co.uk/
I notice other sites, such as [Notice] Georestriction of the UK - Community - Haiku Community are starting to lock UK based users out instead.
What’s the Frame.Work community team going to do ? Are you working on compliance documentation, waiting to see what happens, … ?
I know that Framework ships to the UK, but do they have a physical presence there? Governments can’t really enforce laws outside of their own borders…
Governments sometimes seem to not really want to hear that or think about that.
And they can sort of try to enforce things outside their own borders. Or, not really enforce, rather try to punish those who refuse them. They can they can try to search shipments coming into their country and impound any found to have products from companies they wish to punish.
IANAL, but the first link in the post is to a summary of the new law. If a web site is available to UK users, it’s “in scope” and could be fined if it fails to comply.
So one malicious complaint could take down a whole site.
Which is why smaller sites (think your local cycle club mailing list) are closing rather than deal with it.
I’ve just read a little, but other sites aren’t closing, they are simply geo-blocking the UK. For a while at least. Until and unless it becomes clear that they are not at risk of what sounds like potentially organization / company destroying fines.
But only user-to-user content, like forums. The main Framework site sounds like it should be fine.
Sure, that’s what it says, but UK law isn’t international law. Unless a company has a physical presence in the UK, there’s no enforcement mechanism.
Which leads me to think, what happens if they don’t geoblock UK?
Then the website infriges UK law, but then what?
Then UK would block the website?
Isn’t it easier to wait for that, then? (which could never come)
I’m thinking of the bazillion blogs existing all over the world… they won’t reach out to the UK regulator, for sure…
From the little I read, this
If it was me, absolutely not worth the risk. I’ve seen others say the law is poorly worded and simply unclear. For example, you might be ok if UK people do not make up a “significant” amount of your users. What is the line for a “significant” amount, of course they do not define it. Give it a year, 6 months, 3 months for them to decide if they will make it clear, or failing that, see what cases they try to pursue and which seem to slide by.
Of course I do not believe Framework has a presence in the UK, so could they be truly forced to pay company destroying fines? Perhaps not. Rather, it could end up with the UK saying they will seize any and / all Framework shipments coming in to the UK. Still not worth it, when it’s only this forum that seems covered by this law.
I see.
Small companies and individuals will pay the worst price for this idiotic law…
It’s not all sites accessible from the UK. These rules AFAICT apply to large businesses, not small random forums on the internet.
I’m afraid it is; the wording on the offical web site at Guide for services: complying with the Online Safety Act - Ofcom for “who the rules apply to” do not mention size, and neither does the actual text of the law.
“The rules apply to organisations big and small, from large and well-resourced companies to very small ‘micro-businesses’. They also apply to individuals. … It doesn’t matter where you or your business is based.”
They could have written it to only apply to services with X million users, like EU laws around data access and transparency, but they didn’t.
Which is why whomever is legally responsible for this forum needs to take a view, and action. Very probably they will, at least, need a lawyer.
I’m sure F/W could do this.