In unsurprising #OnlineSafetyAct news:
> Ofcom has today opened an investigation into XIUC’s compliance with its duties under the Act. The investigation follows widespread reports that a Grok model on X is/was being used to generate and share content that may amount to intimate image abuse, CSAM and pornography that is accessible to children.
@neil Hardly surprising. Let's see if they'll show any teeth, or balls rather, towards the world's richest man.
@neil I can picture Starmer gagging on Tangerine Tyrant cock says "Big D, we're not banning anything! Promise!"
@neil if the threats from the US materialise again, I doubt Ofcom will actually do anything expect to say “this is bad” with no real action
@neil is there any timescale specified in the legislation or can X just ignore Ofcom until the storm blows over?
@neil I am so very torn between despising this horrendous piece of legislation, and delicious schadenfreude.
@northernscrub @neil X's CSAM doesn't need the Online Safety Act to be illegal. It's likely illegal under the Obscene Publications Act, or Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (I am not a lawyer).
@diffrentcolours @neil no, it most certainly does not. However, under older legislation, it's more likely that Xitter would have been merely fined. Under the OSA, there is a concrete mechanism to withdraw Xitter's access to the United Kingdom, and whilst I despise the OSA, I must admit I despise Xitter also.
@northernscrub @neil Hasn't blocking of CSAM been happening for a long time pre OSA through the Internet Watch Foundation blocklist?
@diffrentcolours @neil Yes, but previously it was not necessarily an enshrined objective where the site concerned was of a certain size. Previously, it would have been a case of "do your moderation better and pay this fine", and for large sites such as xitter, fencing was never really on the table. Now? Now it is.
@northernscrub @diffrentcolours
And there is perhaps a distinction to draw between voluntary IWF blocking of specific images, and court-ordered blocking of an entire service.
I am not sure that the IWF CAIC list would be a good fit here (and I seem to recall reading that IWF was unconvinced that it was, legally, CSAM - but I certainly have not gone looking).
