Wire · regulatory
UK Committee Hears Calls to Expand the Online Safety Act's Powers
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Fusion42 · 28 July 2026 · Fusion42 review
UK parliament's Communications and Digital Committee heard testimony that the Online Safety Act is failing to deter platform non-compliance, with charities and safety advocates calling for expanded enforcement powers, stricter age verification rules, and extension of oversight to VPN providers.
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◆ ◆ The Wire takeaway
The UK is moving from voluntary platform compliance to mandatory technical controls on age verification and encrypted messaging. If you run a messaging app, social platform, or VPN in Britain, you now face either impossible engineering requirements (reading encrypted messages without decryption keys), VPN blocking, or exit — and the committee is pushing harder.
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