This is a shame, Imgur was a good source of fun. I understand what's the reason behind this decision, the current "implementation" of the Online Safety Act is the worst way to handle this problem. Unfortunately I can't see any way that can be reasonably implemented to check the age of the user.
UK passed an insanely stupid and dangerous (as well as authoritarian) act called Online Safety Act.
It's essentially because of shitty parents allowing kids unsupervised access to the internet, rather than expecting parents to parent they pushed the cost/risk to companies.
Imgur decided they didn't want to foot the cost/risk and pulled out.
As a brit, I don't blame them, if I was US based I'd geoblock the UK as well.
Not least because it's the only way this will make enough of a stink for the gov to climb down.
> because of shitty parents allowing kids unsupervised access to the internet
>90% of parents allow their kids unsupervised access to the internet. That's reality. We've spent the last 30 years begging them to supervise and it hasn't worked, so proposing to do it again is a nonstarter.
On the other hand, I completely get why. Expecting parents to know how to operate Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, iOS, Android, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, ChatGPT, and school-issued devices is absurd, delusional, obviously never happening. CompTIA A+ Certification, for entry-level help desk work, requires learning about less platforms than what a parent faces. Even then, what about the computers that have minimal filtering at school libraries, or at friend's houses?
Denial of the kids on the internet as a problem, combined with unfair expectations on parents, is how we got here.
Perhaps they just don't care enough? I got unsupervised internet access when I was 10 and I don't see what's wrong with that. Similarly, video games didn't make me a psycho.
I also had unsupervised internet as a kid in the 2000s, but the internet is a very different place now with social media, algorithmic feeds, and content that has been carefully designed by bad actors to be as addictive and manipulative as possible. AI is surely not helping so far. I think it must be very difficult to grow up immersed in that environment.
If in a few more years, “video games” evolve into hyper realistic VR worlds with LLM-powered NPCs that act like real people, also designed to maximize engagement, we might need to revisit the risks of exposing kids to that as well.
If it is an unfair expectation for parents to make sure their children stay buckled inside a moving vehicle at every moment, it is even more unfair to ask everyone else in the car to also pay attention, or the manufacturer to add audible tones for them.
There is an ongoing ICO investigation about privacy and handling of children's data under data protection laws, rather than this being related to the Online Safety Act:
When you receive a request to your website (or any service), that request comes from an IP address. There are databases that can tell you what country an IP address is from. It's not perfect, but it works well enough 99.99% of the time. Then, if the country is blacklisted, you do not allow access.
Trivially which is why VPN's have boomed in the UK since this was brought in.
An entirely predictable result given how easy it is to install a VPN vs having to verify yourself constantly to sketchy third parties on every site that has adult content (note: adult meaning adult not pornography..a lot of non-porn adult stuff get caught in the net).
There is a reason that google and apple aren't screaming about these laws.
That pretty much is the reason - they want to become identify brokers for the entire online ecosystem and if it costs them under 18 users they don't really care, they aren't typically the ones with the money anyway.
The UK has started a version of censorship the equivalent can be found in countries many would say are considered dictatorships. It is absolutely shocking as someone who lives here and needs to be fought.
This is a shame, Imgur was a good source of fun. I understand what's the reason behind this decision, the current "implementation" of the Online Safety Act is the worst way to handle this problem. Unfortunately I can't see any way that can be reasonably implemented to check the age of the user.
Agreed, this is a terrible development.
What's the backstory here?
UK passed an insanely stupid and dangerous (as well as authoritarian) act called Online Safety Act.
It's essentially because of shitty parents allowing kids unsupervised access to the internet, rather than expecting parents to parent they pushed the cost/risk to companies.
Imgur decided they didn't want to foot the cost/risk and pulled out.
As a brit, I don't blame them, if I was US based I'd geoblock the UK as well.
Not least because it's the only way this will make enough of a stink for the gov to climb down.
> Imgur decided they didn't want to foot the cost/risk and pulled out.
Is that info from Imgur? Or from conjecture?
> because of shitty parents allowing kids unsupervised access to the internet
>90% of parents allow their kids unsupervised access to the internet. That's reality. We've spent the last 30 years begging them to supervise and it hasn't worked, so proposing to do it again is a nonstarter.
On the other hand, I completely get why. Expecting parents to know how to operate Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, iOS, Android, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox, ChatGPT, and school-issued devices is absurd, delusional, obviously never happening. CompTIA A+ Certification, for entry-level help desk work, requires learning about less platforms than what a parent faces. Even then, what about the computers that have minimal filtering at school libraries, or at friend's houses?
Denial of the kids on the internet as a problem, combined with unfair expectations on parents, is how we got here.
Perhaps they just don't care enough? I got unsupervised internet access when I was 10 and I don't see what's wrong with that. Similarly, video games didn't make me a psycho.
I also had unsupervised internet as a kid in the 2000s, but the internet is a very different place now with social media, algorithmic feeds, and content that has been carefully designed by bad actors to be as addictive and manipulative as possible. AI is surely not helping so far. I think it must be very difficult to grow up immersed in that environment.
If in a few more years, “video games” evolve into hyper realistic VR worlds with LLM-powered NPCs that act like real people, also designed to maximize engagement, we might need to revisit the risks of exposing kids to that as well.
Talk to any child psychologist and they will tell you, immediately, that you just have survivor's bias.
If the expectation for parents to monitor their children's activity is unfair, then it is even more unfair to ask for everyone else to do it for them.
If it is an unfair expectation for parents to make sure their children stay buckled inside a moving vehicle at every moment, it is even more unfair to ask everyone else in the car to also pay attention, or the manufacturer to add audible tones for them.
Or, as I might say more bluntly, said who?
It's actually unclear what the cause of this is.
There is an ongoing ICO investigation about privacy and handling of children's data under data protection laws, rather than this being related to the Online Safety Act:
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs...
The ICO has indicated it is planning to give a fine to the owner of Imgur due to breaches of data protection laws.
Question: How does a company block access from an entire country? Is that done through DNS or IP range or something else?
When you receive a request to your website (or any service), that request comes from an IP address. There are databases that can tell you what country an IP address is from. It's not perfect, but it works well enough 99.99% of the time. Then, if the country is blacklisted, you do not allow access.
So that could be defeated by a VPN?
Trivially which is why VPN's have boomed in the UK since this was brought in.
An entirely predictable result given how easy it is to install a VPN vs having to verify yourself constantly to sketchy third parties on every site that has adult content (note: adult meaning adult not pornography..a lot of non-porn adult stuff get caught in the net).
For now.
1. Driver's licenses are becoming a web standard soon. https://github.com/w3c-fedid/digital-credentials
Support was added just last week in Safari 26. https://digitalcredentials.dev
2. The UK is keeping a very close eye on VPNs. https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/could-vpn...
There is a reason that google and apple aren't screaming about these laws.
That pretty much is the reason - they want to become identify brokers for the entire online ecosystem and if it costs them under 18 users they don't really care, they aren't typically the ones with the money anyway.
Driver's licenses are becoming a web standard soon.
Could you elaborate on this? I for one would never elect to participate.
The search term you're looking for is "age verification laws".
I tried. Imgur managed to block from Amsterdam, France, Singapore and US. The only success I has was Russia.
Of course.
Makes it seem almost pointless.
The UK has started a version of censorship the equivalent can be found in countries many would say are considered dictatorships. It is absolutely shocking as someone who lives here and needs to be fought.
[dupe] Discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45424888
[flagged]