This gift of unchecked power will lead to "every adult having to provide their personal data, or use their body and biometric features as a key to unlock the Internet”.
It doesn't address the structural causes of online harms and can be used to restrict content ideologically.
🗣️ ORG's James Baker.
🚨 Wide ranging powers have been voted through to restrict Internet access 🚨
Ministers will be able to impose digital ID checks, curfews and VPN restrictions without Parliamentary scrutiny.
This can be used on websites, social media, apps and games with no need to show there's any harm to children.
Digital ID checks ransom our access to information.
We’re forced to splurge our sensitive data all over the place, eroding our freedoms and creating a privacy timebomb.
It’s lose lose.
MPs mustn't hand the government unbridled powers over all Internet services in today's vote.
Write to your MP ⬇️
“When you create a law, you have to think about what a future government could do with those powers."
Ministers would have unilateral powers to lock what they see as 'harmful' behind digital ID checks.
This could end up being used on LGBTQ+ and reproductive health content.
🗣️ ORG's James Baker.
Tomorrow MPs face a choice:
Give Ministers a blank cheque to impose digital ID checks across any part of the Internet, or protect our rights.
They must say no to powers that’ll restrict our access to information unless we all prove we’re over 16.
Join over 570 people who’ve written to their MP ⬇️
Plowing ahead with a system riddled with technical and data errors risks creating another Windrush scandal.
Rather than being dragged to court, the government could've allowed physical documents as well as digital proof of the right to be in the UK.
Sign up to our newsletter for the latest news ⬇️
The eVisa judicial review will hear that the digital and online-only scheme is unlawful.
Without a physical copy of their immigration status, migrants are at risk of losing access to housing, services and work.
Despite being warned since before implementation, the Home Office has done nothing.
Web access must NOT be held hostage to ID checks ⚠️
We can't nod through a law giving Ministers free rein to block or time-limit whatever they want online.
All of us will be forced to hand over our sensitive data repeatedly to any given provider for everyday Internet use.
Tell your MP to say NO ⬇️
Digital ID checkpoints could erupt across the Internet 🆔
The government is seeking a power grab. And it's not just social media.
Every adult will have to do ID checks to access whatever online services the government – any government – decides to restrict or curfew.
ORG's James Baker explains ⬇️
Ending online harms isn't a game of whack-a-mole.
The only way is to bust the business model that rewards harmful results.
Nothing changes until we break the spell that keeps us on platforms; the harvesting of our data to maximise engagement and fuel advertising.
Sign the petition #BreakBigTech ⬇️
This is no longer about banning under-16s from social media.
It’s about control over all information and forcing adults to go through digital ID checks to access the Internet.
Forcing us to submit our identity or biometric data to an array of different providers poses significant privacy risks.
All adults would have to do a digital ID check to establish their age with third-parties so they can access any service.
If you don't, you could face blocks or time restricted curfews.
These powers could be used by any government to restrict access to almost any online service you could imagine.
New powers would let Ministers pick and choose what should be restricted, as well as impose curfews on access.
All without having to prove sites are harmful for children.
They don’t just cover social media, but all 'Internet services’ – blogs, websites, online games and more.
This is overreach.
🚨 ID checks to get online could become the new norm 🚨
A new amendment would give the government sweeping powers to block access to lawful information and communications.
That's unless we submit our identification to a bounty of providers.
Tell your MP to stop this broad and repressive law ⬇️
We must pull online harms out by the roots, not simply prune them.
To #BreakBigTech, we must:
🟢 Enforce data protection to stop targeted ads.
🟢 Make algorithms transparent and give us control over them.
🟢 Let us take our followers and data with us when we leave a platform.
The government is stuck treating the symptoms, not the cause of online harms.
We don’t need to ban social media or age gate the Internet.
It risks pushing children into unregulated spaces and does nothing to challenge surveillance capitalism, where Big Tech profits at our expense.
#BreakBigTech
Measures to stop online harms just rearrange the deckchairs.
To get serious about it, we must attack how social media platforms do business.
Using our data to keep us online with targeted ads and 'For You' algorithms is the engine of hate and extremism. We must #BreakBigTech.
Sign our petition ⬇️
These duties on platforms are excessive considering the Palestine Action ban is unlawful.
It leads to the removal of Palestine solidarity posts and exposes people to surveillance or even criminalisation for engaging with content that references non-violent direct action.
We must hear from Ofcom.
🔴 Police emergency takedown powers
During a designated ‘crisis,’ police will have direct lines to platforms to demand immediate content removal.
Without independent oversight, live protest footage and dissenting political voices could be silenced in real time.
🔴 Algorithmic suppression
Recommender systems will have to de-prioritise content that might be 'illegal' until it's reviewed.
This is supposed to stop the spread of extremist content, but it could mean lawful activism and protest footage is hidden from feeds – even if it breaks no rules.
🔴 Pre-publication scanning
Platforms will have to scan posts and files being shared for ‘illegal’ content and remove it before it’s even published.
Automated filters can’t understand context or nuance – legitimate political content about Palestine (and more) could be removed before anyone sees it.
The threat to Palestine-related political content could be made worse by new Online Safety powers.
Ofcom's consultation included plans to restrict livestreaming, proactive scanning for illegal content and algorithmic suppression.
These may come into effect before the government’s appeal is heard.
At present, content supportive of Palestine Action must be removed when a platform finds it or it's reported.
There's no independent appeal process and Ofcom has encouraged platforms to adopt ‘bypass strategies’.
This means censoring content beyond what's required to avoid regulatory scrutiny.
We've called on Ofcom to clear up confusion following the ruling that the Palestine Action ban is unlawful.
We need to know what platforms are expected to do about their duty to remove 'terrorist' content under the Online Safety Act and how new duties will be applied.
Read our open letter ⬇️
The High Court found the proscription to be a “very significant interference” with freedom of speech. The same is true online.
Yet, while the government appeals the decision, the ban on Palestine Action stays in place.
Ofcom must provide immediate guidance to ensure public debate isn't censored.
Last year, ORG warned that duties in the Online Safety Act combined with the UK’s vague definition of terrorism meant content would be wrongly identified as illegal and removed.
These duties make it impossible for platforms to balance free expression rights, as they require blanket action.
The proscription of Palestine Action has been found unlawful. So what now for content takedowns?
Ofcom must urgently make it clear what platforms are expected to do under their duty to remove 'terrorist' posts and stop censorship.
Read about our open letter ⬇️
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
What @mazzucatom.bsky.social says about the capabilities of the state is extremely relevant when thinking about Digital sovereignty. No capacity, no sovereignty.
“Child safety is vital, but giving ministers sweeping powers to make communication conditional on digital ID is a profound and risky expansion of state control.”
🗣️ ORG’s James Baker on new Henry VIII powers to extend age verification across any part of the Internet without going through Parliament.
ORG is calling on the government to create a digital sovereignty strategy.
The UK needs more control over its digital infrastructure, so our systems can't be switched off.
It's a matter of national security and consumer protection.
Sign our petition ⬇️
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
