Wikipedia needs different safety rules, says foundation

Wikipedia should be treated differently to the big social media firms in the Online Safety Bill, a leading member of its foundation says.

The encyclopedia is written and edited totally by means of heaps of volunteers round the arena.

The Wikimedia Foundation’s Rebecca MacKinnon also says a proposed exchange to the bill, which might also bypass on Tuesday, would “restriction freedom of expression”.

The bill objectives to guard human beings from dangerous content online.

Ms MacKinnon says the foundation is involved approximately the impact of the bill on volunteer-run websites.

She informed the BBC that the threat of “harsh” new criminal penalties for tech bosses “will have an effect on no longer most effective big agencies, however additionally public hobby websites such as Wikipedia”.

The Wikipedia Foundation is the now not-for-earnings organization which hosts the encyclopaedia.

Ms MacKinnon says the regulation have to follow the EU Digital Services Act which, she argues, differentiates among centralised content moderation performed by personnel and Wikipedia-fashion moderation with the aid of community volunteers.

The government told the BBC the bill is designed to strike the stability among tackling harm without implementing useless burdens on low-threat tech organizations.

“[Regulator] Ofcom will take a reasonable and proportionate approach while tracking and enforcing the protection obligations outlined within the invoice, that specialize in offerings in which the chance of damage is maximum,” it stated.

Multi-player game

How web sites are dealt with under the invoice in part relies upon on their length.

But lawyers have also talked about that some of the duties inside the invoice, promoted as a way to rein in huge tech, will have an effect on much smaller offerings in which customers can speak with other users.

Neil Brown, a solicitor specialising in net and telecoms law, told the BBC: “The bill, and the amendment, might impose pages of duties on a person who, for fun, runs their own social media or picture/video sharing server, or hosts a multi-participant recreation which lets players chat or see every different’s content or creations.”

He indicates limiting the scope of the invoice to the primary commercial operators with multi-million pound turnover would help “take away the weight and chance to hobbyists and volunteers”.

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Wikipedia is the eighth maximum visited internet site inside the UK, consistent with statistics from software program company Similarweb, but everything on the web page is produced by using volunteers, and the network comes to a decision what is appropriate.

Ms MacKinnon says it has been stuck in a internet designed for the likes of Facebook and Instagram in which choices are centralised.

The basis believes in community decision making, and does now not get worried with the articles, she says, but the bill could force it to intervene if a volunteer editor stored up an article which might ruin UK law, for example.

“It forces the inspiration to interrupt the network version, and proactively take matters down,” she says.

However, the authorities says a site like Wikipedia may be capable of expand its very own techniques to community moderation, as lengthy as it tackles unlawful content and protects kids.

It is also understood that officers trust Wikipedia is not likely to be classed as a Category 1 service, challenge to the strictest regulations.

Ms MacKinnon says any UK changes would have an effect on all readers of Wikipedia in English, together with the ones in the US, an example the “UK regulating the arena”, she says.

Harmful definitions

Wikipedia has articles covering topics like sexuality, pornography, drug use, and suicide, which some would possibly feel will be harmful for youngsters to view.

Measures within the invoice suggest it issues it would have to check the a while of users, which might require accumulating greater statistics about readers, which Wikipedia tries to avoid.

For example, Ms MacKinnon says the page about the Russian invasion of Ukraine is unlawful in Russia.

Age verification should mean amassing facts on readers which would possibly then be requested with the aid of a government or be hacked.

“It without a doubt in the end exposes anyone, consisting of children to greater harm,” she says.

Blunt instrument

More than forty cross-birthday party MPs are backing the trade to make social media bosses face prison in the event that they fail to protect children from detrimental on-line content.

And some of outstanding kid’s charities and campaigners are lending their aid.

It’s increasingly inevitable @RishiSunak will need to bring senior manager liability into the #OnlineSafetyBill to avoid a Commons defeat. Some weekend thoughts from me on why this is needed (although why the devil is firmly in the detail): https://t.co/GTCURn8aeI

— Andy Burrows (@_andyburrows) January 15, 2023