Report from UKTN
In Brief – The Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit behind the Wikipedia knowledge platform, has gone to the High Court of Justice in London to challenge how the platform is categorized under the Online Safety Act (OSA). The non-profit says that designating Wikipedia as a Category 1 platform, meaning a high-risk website, would apply duties that would undermine the quality and integrity of the content on its services. Of most concern is the requirement to verify the identity of its users, particularly the 260,000 volunteer editors from around the world, many of whom choose to stay anonymous, in some cases for their own protection. Placing Wikipedia in Category 1 would “undermine the privacy and safety of Wikipedia’s volunteer contributors, expose the encyclopedia to manipulation and vandalism, and divert essential resources from protecting people and improving Wikipedia”. They are joined in the case by a longtime UK-based volunteer contributor referred to as User:Zzuuzz, whose true identity will remain confidential. Wikimedia’s General Counsel said, “We trust the court will protect Wikipedia, a vital encyclopedic resource, from rules crafted for the internet’s riskiest commercial sites and, in doing so, safeguard the open internet for everyone.”
Context – The OSA empowered Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, to “make online services safer” by making “sure companies have effective systems in place to protect users” from illegal and harmful content including child sexual exploitation and abuse, hate, harassment, and encouraging self-harm. Requiring digital services to put guardrails in place to protect minors has been a top priority, with adult websites and social media platforms announcing new technical age verification policies for UK users. Ofcom has described the OSA as a “regulatory cousin” rather than “identical twin” of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Wikipedia is a Very Large Online Platform under the DSA, facing the most stringent obligations, resulting in a compliance process that the foundation calls a “major challenge”. Australia will soon be age-checking online search.