Comment on 4chan and Kiwi Farms Sue the UK Over its Age Verification Law

sunbeam60@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

• rumba@lemmy.zip ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  They don’t just block it, they try to fine the companies first, legal smothering.

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• dubyakay@lemmy.ca ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Passing laws like this disproportionately affects smaller websites that are independent from big tech. A law like this HAD to come from big tech, where tech bros are exchanging money with the government for total wrangling and control of every step of their users / citizens.

  As an analogy, currently in some countries tobacco and vape products can only be sold in certain stores in a certain way, hidden behind a counter, think tobacco stores, corner stores, gas stations or mom&pop depanneurs. Suddenly some government official receives bribes (through lobbying or otherwise) from a cartel of big-box stores and security-service providers that prompts them to propose a bill to mandate a security guard at every small store to act as a bouncer against letting children into the store. As a small business owner not only does this require you to hire a security guard and pay their salary + the overhead going towards big-sec, you are also losing revenue from potential customers (children) that would come into your store to buy chips, pop, ice cream or bag of milk (yes, bag). And I didn’t even get to the analogy of control yet, just that of

  It’s a stupid law and for a stupid reason (FOR THE CHILDREN!!) and I hope more, serious businesses pile on such a lawsuit and hopefully kneecaps anyone ever thinking about implementing such an idiocy.

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• Xatolos@reddthat.com ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  From what I’ve read about this lawsuit is that the UK isn’t blocking the site, they are sending them daily fines for not IDing every user. The 2 sites are arguing back that they aren’t UK companies and don’t even have any business/physical presence in the UK, so as they have nothing to do with anything of the UK then UK laws and legal threats have no meaning to them. Which I agree with here.

  I think they are seeking legal lawsuits like this to help prevent any future issues (like having arrest warrants issued for them in the UK, preventing them from ever being there, or the risk of other countries arresting them and shipping them to the UK to face the fines/charges).

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• gian@lemmy.grys.it ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  Whether I like the UK’s act, they are free to set the laws of their land. So if foreign websites don’t want to comply, the UK is also free to order its ISPs to block the site.

  Yes, and 4chan is an asshole, if you want to do business in a country you need to respect the country’s laws even if your company in not in that country.

  What 4chan can do (and it is the only thing) is to block people from UK. Or find a way to convince a UK court that the law is unconstitutional (or the UK equivalent) but I would not bet on this.

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  • sunbeam60@lemmy.ml ⁨4⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Yes despite my downvotes I’ll stick my neck out to agree with you.

    If a US company wanted to sell liquor online in the UK, they’d have to follow U.K. laws for alcohol licensing and age-verified delivery.

    I don’t know why age verification is any different. That’s the UK law (which I disagree with for what it’s worth, certainly in its current implementation) and if you want to operate in the UK (and for a website that means be accessible to U.K. audiences) you follow U.K. laws while here.

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