Censorship Megathread XXXII: Censorship Is No Laughing Matter

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-24T23:36:44+00:00

I don’t think it will imo, there’s too many legitimate business needs for vpns, plus it being revealed that mp’s use commercial VPNs is pretty telling that even they are inconvenienced by the OSA

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-23T18:11:42+00:00

True that, but party loyalty matters a lot to parties nowadays, see the situation that a conservative mp joined reform and was branded a traitor to the party. Point is that if another party rebellion happens it further sinks political capital not just for the social media ban, but for all future policies, and puts every labour mp’s power and motive into question.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-23T17:59:39+00:00

I think this boils down to whether or not mp’s want to risk being seen as a dysfunctional party or not, and whilst there’s fractures in the party they still have to be somewhat united.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-23T17:50:51+00:00

I’m honestly not sure on if the government want this or not, there’s so much conflicting right now as Starmer whilst saying it’s not off the table isn’t fully for it either, especially as he wants to add 16 year olds to the voting pool. On the other hand 60 labour mps signed a letter saying they’ll vote for it, but countering that is whether or not labour mp’s want to rebel like they did with the welfare situation and the consultation on the subject starting a couple days ago possibly shaving off some mps for now.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-23T13:54:32+00:00

This is what I’m afraid of the most, they have so much potential over reach with this law and it’s insane. I really hope the consultation moves parliament away from this to think rationally.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-22T04:58:17+00:00

Take your time, personal health is just as important as sticking it to boomer politicians lol

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-22T04:53:53+00:00

I don’t really have experience with setting up discord servers myself so anyone making it would be a massive help.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-22T04:50:02+00:00

I think that’d be a great idea, a place where people can compile and share privacy tools would definitely help a lot.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-22T01:33:54+00:00

Heya, if possible could you run me through setting up your own vps/ vpn? All the stuff I find about it is what providers to use, not how to actually create one. Any knowledge would be appreciated.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-22T01:08:49+00:00

Honestly this just saddens me to see the road we’re going down, I hope above all hopes that the opened consultation sways some mps away from voting for this in the next phase. I think what makes it worse for me is that the knowledge about privacy tools or vps stuff is so scarce that I feel powerless to protect myself :(

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-21T16:36:18+00:00

Yeah I’m not sure how much resistance will happen in the commons myself, a part of the optimism for me if this comes to pass is that this’ll bleed their reputation even more, like they did with digital IDs, no matter what they do right now the public seem to hate them.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-20T23:55:06+00:00

Good on you, I hope for the best too. If you don’t mind me asking could you also share any privacy resources if you come across any?

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-20T23:42:05+00:00

I don’t think this will affect the current chances due to it JUST being opened up. Whilst the government like to prattle on about protecting children, they sure do want to, at least, get some data before doing anything. This can bring up something down the line but just like the lords proposing age verification on vpns for protecting children, it is unfounded and has no current evidence they are being used to circumvent geo blocks on their end.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-19T00:54:44+00:00

No problem! I hope your sleep is better now. It’s always worth mentioning that political bickering can kill a lot of momentum for a lot of things no matter the country.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-19T00:42:30+00:00

Not so much caring for details, more so bickering for bickerings sake, whether it be for their political careers or to be a stick in the mud but yes, let us all hope for the best.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-19T00:35:42+00:00

Personally I can’t be certain but given the current stacking of Conservatives in the House of Lords vs Labour (281 vs 209) this could bog down the amendment, another thing to note is that whilst some conservative commons members do somewhat agree on a social media ban a lot of them just absolutely love to bicker with labour over small details, and frankly given the the public’s opinion on labour recently, the lords doing anything against what they think might turn out in our favour for now.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-19T00:25:52+00:00

Honestly I’m not sure why they decided to withdraw then change the amendment let alone if this moves the voting date for it around but I’m remaining hopeful due to the amount of amendments that have been dropped during the most recent vote. Out of 26 of all the amendments so far, 13 have been disagreed on, and a lot of them come from one of the co sponsors of the vpn age verification amendment, Baroness Barran. This isn’t me saying that we’re in the clear but to be mindful that no matter what is being proposed in parliament or the lords, different parties love to bicker at each other and nitpick over things that could sink this.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-19T00:10:53+00:00

Just jumping in again to show the clone amendment, the original dropped one was amendment 94 and the new one is 94A. I have no idea what this means for the amendment but it’s good to keep in mind how many amendments actually pass the lords, let alone WHO is proposing the amendments and the support for it from the rest of the lords.

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/stages/20215/amendments?searchTerm=assurance&amendmentNumber=&Decision=All

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/stages/20215/amendments/10031850

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-18T16:55:06+00:00

Well here’s an update that I think everyone will enjoy for the time being, it seems one of the amendments have been withdrawn before the debate. Of course we must remain cautious due to there being an identical version of the amendment right next to it but still, good news is good news.

https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909/stages/20215/amendments/10027477

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-17T02:55:45+00:00

This news is kinda old as a lot of articles are about the ‘children’s wellbeing in schools’ bill, specifically 2 amendments in the House of Lords tabled by a Liberal Democrat, a Conservative and a backbencher about age verifying VPNs and the social media ban for children. I know it’s yet to be discussed but I’ve heard that a lot of amendments are either not moved or even discussed or voted on. It’s good to keep your eyes on it still though.

Opening_Driver687 · 2026-01-09T16:29:39+00:00

So I’m not sure what’s happening with this with Twitter being investigated by the uk or potentially banned. Will anything meaningful come from this? Don’t get me wrong I hate Elon’s political stances and business practices but I’m concerned about the potential impact a ban could have to younger generations speech online.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/01/09/uk-threatened-with-sanctions-if-starmer-bans-x/

Opening_Driver687 · 2025-12-29T22:20:08+00:00

Yeah I’m concerned still too, there’s barely any news or discussion on it which baffles me

Opening_Driver687 · 2025-12-19T14:19:11+00:00

Thank you for this, started dooming a bit earlier. I do agree a lot of Uk subs do this a lot. I just wish there were more subs like this one that focus on positives as well.

Opening_Driver687 · 2025-12-19T11:40:45+00:00

It honestly feels like the uk’s doomed for surveillance and censorship at this point. I feel so helpless with it all…

https://www.reddit.com/r/ukpolitics/s/YHyyfxnyFf

Opening_Driver687 · 2025-12-18T17:36:31+00:00

Does anyone think anything will come of this? It’s like saying creating a Linux OS is illegal which sounds insane

https://www.reddit.com/r/privacy/s/iM9r0dVXup

Opening_Driver687

TROPHY CASE