Defend Democratic Expression
What’s legal to say should be legal to type. The Online Safety Act could change that.
The bloated Online Safety Act contains many risks to free speech – a government regulator shouldn’t control speech online or off.
Ofcom is now the official online state speech regulator – appointed and directed by government – They are creating a sprawling bureaucracy to police speech online. Their initial consultation on protecting people from online harms include dozens of complicated documents and hundreds of pages of draft guidance.
The Act’s provisions to block services which refuse to cooperate with the speech regulator’s orders could put household names like Wikipedia and Tumblr in the crosshairs.
ORG will continue to fight for your rights to freedom of expression. Engaging where we can with Ofcom to try and minimize the harms this act will cause to freedom of expression.
Meanwhile, tech giants with the resources to surveil all user content, and comply with the bureaucratic requirements will grow ever stronger.
Join our campaign
Support our campaign for a better, rights-based approach to making the Internet safer.
Take ActionPrior Restraint
We favour a rights-based approach to making the Internet safer. We’re part of a coalition of free expression organisations meeting with the Government to find a way to address online harms without sacrificing our digital rights.
Free expression online
11 May 2023 By Pam Cowburn
Online Safety Bill: A Danger to Democracy
The campaign group, Republic have called for an investigation into the arrest of eight of their members, including Chief Executive Graham Smith, ahead of the organisation’s planned protest of the King’s coronation.
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Write to your MP
Use our tool to tell your MP about your concerns with the Online Safety Act.
Take ActionFree expression online
15 May 2023 By Dr Monica Horten
Small Boats and Silent Protest: Prior Restraint in the Online Safety Bill
Under new rules created by the Online Safety Bill, all illegal content must be removed from social media platforms.
Find Out More01 Sep 2022 By Dr Monica Horten
Could debate on immigration be suppressed?
A little bombshell, hidden deep within the gargantuan piece of legislation that is the Online Safety Bill, could have the effect of suppressing public debate around immigration.
Find Out More11 Jan 2023 By Dr Monica Horten
State enforcement of big tech terms
At the end of 2022, a widely publicised change to the Online Safety Bill took out the so-called “legal but harmful” clauses for adults.
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29 Sep 2022 By Dr Monica Horten
Will the upload filter ban images of protest?
Recently, we saw how police threatened and in a couple of cases, arrested, anti-monarchy protesters, following the death of the late queen Elizabeth II.
Find Out MoreOnline Safety Bill a threat to human rights warn campaigners
Civil liberties groups have warned that the Online Safety Bill will fundamentally undermine human rights in the UK.
Find Out MorePolicy Hub
ILLEGAL CONTENT SAFETY DUTIES AND PRIOR RESTRAINT
Read our briefing on how the Online Safety Bill threatens democractic expression.
Find out moreDon’t Scan Me!
The Online Safety Act’s spy clause outsources surveillance to messaging apps.
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The Story So Far
A dangerous precedent for global censorship
ORG responds to Ofcom’s Online Safety Act plans Last week, Open Rights Group responded to Ofcom’s Illegal Harms consultation, the first of a series of consultations Ofcom will be holding on the development of its guidance for the Online Safety Act.More Information
18 April, 2023
Policy briefing – Online Safety Bill – House of Lords Committee Stage
CIVIL SOCIETY COMMITTEE STAGE BRIEFING ON THE ONLINE SAFETY BILL FOR HOUSE OF LORDS: ILLEGAL CONTENT SAFETY DUTIES AND PRIOR RESTRAINT – Supported by Wikimedia UK, Index on Censorship, and Open Rights Group.
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16 March, 2023
Campaign Pack – Online Safety Bill
A guide for ORG supporters and activists who want to take action to protect their digital rights from the Online Safety Bill
Campaign Pack on the Online Safety Bill for ORG campaignersAuthor – James Baker – james.
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05 January, 2023
The Online Safety Bill – Sector Support Roundtable
In September 2022, Open Rights Group convened a discussion between privacy and data protection experts and other civil society professionals exploring the nexus between privacy, protection from online abuse and freedom of expression.
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29 June, 2022
Submission to Parliament on Online Safety Bill
SUBMISSION TO PARLIAMENT Addressing automated, arbitrary, algorithmic censorship in the Online Safety BillJune 2022
Contents
About Open Rights Group 2
Addressing automated, arbitrary algorithmic censorship 2
Our concerns and recommendations 2
Summary 3
Automated censorship and arbitrary restrictions 4
Content moderation systems 5
Arbitrary restrictions 6
Why prevent has a special meaning (prior restraint) 9
Hands, face, age-gate 9
Ministerial powers to interfere with speech 10
Chat controls, to do lists and the spy in the your pocket 11
User Dis- Empowerment 13
Rights for online speech 13
Procedural safeguards and effective remedies 15
User experiences of restrictive content moderation measures 15
Procedural safeguards against arbitrary take-downs 16
About Open Rights Group
Open Rights Group (ORG) is the leading UK-based digital campaigning organisation.
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27 April, 2022
Online Safety Bill Second Reading briefing
ORG analysis and highlights concerning the Online Safety Bill and its adverse impact on human rights and the free internet
About Open Rights Group
Open Rights Group (ORG) is the leading UK-based digital campaigning organisation.
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07 February, 2022
Experts challenge Govt’s anti-encryption campaign
Leading cybersecurity experts and human rights activists say scaremongering tactics being used to mislead the public and make bogus case for weakening encryption.
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30 May, 2019
Collateral Damage in the War Against Online Harms
A summary of this report is also available on Top10 VPN’s website here.
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23 May, 2019
ORG policy responses to Online Harms White Paper
Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based digital campaigning organisation working to protect fundamental rights to privacy and free speech online.
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Press Releases
14 March, 2024
Extremism guidance attacks our freedom of expression
Open Rights Group has responded to the government’s announcement that it will update the definition of extremism used by government departments and officials.
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12 July, 2021
Privacy Campaigners condemn the Government for abdicating their responsibility
Responding to racist comments that were directed towards several England players following the team’s loss on penalties against Italy in the EURO 2020 final, Heather Burns, Policy Manager at the Open Rights Group, said:
“Illegal racial abuse sent to England’s footballers must be prosecuted under existing laws.
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14 June, 2021
ORG join over thirty digital and human rights organisations in calling on MPs to protect end-to-end encryption
Over thirty digital and human rights organisations call on MPs to keep their constituents safe by protecting end-to-end encryption from legislative threats
Today (14 June) Open Rights Group has joined over thirty digital and human rights organisations in calling on MPs to keep their constituents safe by protecting end-to-end encryption from legislative threats.
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12 May, 2021
Government’s Kafkaesque plans for regulating online speech is condemned
Responding to the Online Safety Bill, Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group said:
“Treating online speech as inherently dangerous and demanding that risks are eliminated under the threat of massive fines is only going to end up in over-reaction and content removal.
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09 December, 2020
Privacy Campaigners warn Government against stopping FB messenger Encryption
Privacy Campaigners warn the Government against seeking injunction to halt Facebook’s Encryption plans
Responding to reports that Government could issue injunction against Facebook’s encryption plans, Jim Killock, Executive Director of the Open Rights Group said:
“Encryption is a vital tool to help people protect their personal messages.
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12 March, 2020
Online Harms Regulation Threatens Free Speech
Appointing state regulator for online speech creates censorship incentives: ‘duty of care’ is vague and an undefined concept
Jim Killock, Executive Director of Open Rights Group said:
“This is a dangerous proposal that could cause vast restrictions on free speech.
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01 July, 2019
Online Harms White Paper – ‘Duty of care not the right approach’ experts agree
This call, made jointly by the Oxford Internet Institute (part of the University of Oxford), Open Rights Group, The Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), Global Partners Digital and Index on Censorship, responds to the government’s Online Harms White Paper.
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08 April, 2019
DCMS publishes White Paper on Internet Safety and Online Harm
The White Paper focuses heavily on the duties of social media platforms to police user-generated content.
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