from The Winepress at thewinepress.substack.com:
Substack has warned that posts, chats, direct messages, comments and Notes may also be blurred or blocked if they fall within the Act’s definition of “potentially harmful.”
Substack is the latest platform to bend the knee to the United Kingdom’s demands with its controversial Online Safety Act, which forces social media platforms, websites and other select apps to provide a digital ID and age verification to access many forms of digital content, along with the ability for the government to effectively censor so-called mis- and disinformation. The law also grants the government the direct ability to scan messages on private communication apps.
Police State: UK’s Online Safety Act Takes Effect. Requires Biometric Verification To Access Websites, ‘Mis- And Disinformation’ Censored
However, the vast majority of popular apps and websites accessed in the West are American-based, and because of that the U.K. has tried to exact dominion over American brands, claiming that the United States’ First Amendment is not applicable and is subject to British authority. Sites such as 4Chan are not willing to obey this and are being dealt with legally at the moment.
But Substack not so, and is yet another platform that has capitulated to the demands of the Keir Starmer government.
As pointed out by independent, British-based The Expose, since-November, British users of the platform have been hit with messages about providing their ID to access certain features of the website, even though the Substack team has claimed it is not in favor of U.K.’s Online Safety Act.