UK Online Safety Bill: Addressing Dangerous Age Verification and 'Spy Clause' to Protect Children from Online Abuse

The UK's Online Safety Bill will require all internet platforms with UK users to prevent minors from accessing "harmful" content, which includes adult websites and user-generated content platforms. To comply, sites will have to verify the age of visitors using government-issued documents or biometric data. This will lead to a significant shift in online information availability and pose a threat to privacy. Platforms will face criminal penalties for non-compliance, leading to potential over-censorship and the exclusion of UK users. The bill's vague implementation details and broad definition of "harmful" content raise concerns about misinterpretation and disproportionate interference with access to information and freedom of expression rights.