Speech
Keir Starmer Considers VPN ID Checks as UK Expands Online Safety Act Powers
Britain may soon require ID to access the very tool designed to protect you from ID tracking.
Germany’s CDU Pushes Real-Name Social Media Mandate and ID Checks
The party could ask Germans to show their papers before they can post a tweet.
40 State Attorneys General Want To Tie Online Access to ID
The bill’s supporters call it child protection; its architecture looks more like a national ID system for the internet.
UK Regulator Ofcom Proposes Second Fine Against US Platform 4chan
Ofcom is pressing ahead with enforcement against a US platform over speech rules controversial even in Britain, as the platform argues in US federal court that Ofcom has no jurisdiction.
Russia Blocks WhatsApp Nationwide, Pushing 100 Million Users Toward Kremlin-Backed App Max
Russia’s 100 million WhatsApp users are being nudged toward Max, a Kremlin-friendly app that doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption.
UK Fines US Platform Imgur For Lack of Age Verification
Britain is trying to extend its regulatory reach to force digital ID-style age checks onto global platforms.
Brazil Charges Woman for 2020 Social Media Posts Under Court-Defined “Transphobia”
The country’s Supreme Court created the crime she’s accused of without asking Congress, and now a veterinary student faces a decade in prison for arguments she made on Twitter in 2020.
Russia Restricts Telegram Access to Push Citizens Toward State-Controlled Max App, Pavel Durov Says
Durov’s defiance comes as Moscow tries the same playbook that failed in Iran, only this time with a homegrown WeChat waiting in the wings.
“Kids Off Social Media Act” Opens the Door to Digital ID by Default
The bill never says “show your ID,” but it quietly demands systems that make anonymous speech impossible.
Alabama Moves to Put a Gatekeeper on the App Store
The Legislature waved it through, but HB161 locks mandatory age checks and parent-linked accounts into the foundation of Alabama’s app ecosystem.
UK Justice Ministry Orders Deletion of Criminal Court Records
The moment journalists could see how criminal courts actually functioned, the instinct inside the system was to make the visibility vanish rather than fix what it exposed.
California Wants Gun Blueprints Treated Like Weapons
California is betting that code and blueprints can be treated as contraband by not calling it speech.