Imgur ceases service in the UK in response to "Online Safety Act"

[Dreadnought 8,227]

YO, GUYS -- 

I recently sent @AP a snapshot of some stuff I was doing on the Bremerhaven map -- and for some reason he was unable to view the image.  He got a "Content not viewable in your region" message.  I sent the picture via the Simtrop PM system.  This has never happened before.  He immediately became worried that members of the community might be having the same problem.

IF POSSIBLE -- Could EVERYONE view this particular image -- PLEASE.

IF YOU SEE THE IMAGE, CLICK THE "LIKE" BUTTON AND I WILL KNOW IT'S OK.

IF YOU CANNOT SEE THE IMAGE -- PLEASE SEND ME A "PM" -- RIGHT AWAY.  INCLUDING YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE MIGHT BE A CLUE TO THE ISSUE.  (NO personal information beyond that, please.)

Sorry for the "bother" -- but I would appreciate your cooperation to try and solve the issue "AP" is having.

THANK YOU -- THANK YOU -- 

[Haljackey 17,380]

31 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

YO, GUYS -- 

I recently sent @AP a snapshot of some stuff I was doing on the Bremerhaven map -- and for some reason he was unable to view the image.  He got a "Content not viewable in your region" message.  I sent the picture via the Simtrop PM system.  This has never happened before.  He immediately became worried that members of the community might be having the same problem.

It's an Imgur link- they're taking a stand against the UK's internet policies so if you are from the UK / affected areas, Imgur will block it on their side.

There are tons of stories on the net about it. One example:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gzxv5gy3qo

[Ulisse Wolf 4,444]

36 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

I recently sent @AP a snapshot of some stuff I was doing on the Bremerhaven map -- and for some reason he was unable to view the image.  He got a "Content not viewable in your region" message.  I sent the picture via the Simtrop PM system.  This has never happened before.  He immediately became worried that members of the community might be having the same problem.

Imgur has blocked access to UK users because of that illegal law called the Online Safety Act.

If you are a UK user, you must use a VPN to use and view images from imgur.  If you are a UK citizen, call your member of parliament and complain that this law has destroyed the internet in the UK and that this law censoring the internet must be abolished.

https://www.theverge.com/news/788823/imgur-uk-users-blocked-ico-investigation

[rsc204 21,857]

You know I’m not sure I disagree with a law that protects kids from the GID awful crap ob the internet. However, the user in question unless he’s on holiday or moved is in the US.

More likely some server snafu, we can look into it. 

[Dreadnought 8,227]

25 minutes ago, rsc204 said:

You know I’m not sure I disagree with a law that protects kids from the GID awful crap ob the internet. However, the user in question unless he’s on holiday or moved is in the US.

More likely some server snafu, we can look into it. 

Yo, guy --

The blocked "viewer" is in the UK and both @Haljackey and @Ulisse Wolf are "bang-on-target" with the problem.  (MANY THANKS to both of you Gentlemen.)  

I must confess I feel a bit stupid for not knowing anything about this on-going dispute.  I will, however, see that @AP is made aware of his current situation -- AND -- will "reach out and touch" his Member of Parliament -- !!

[kschmidt 6,198]

35 minutes ago, Dreadnought said:

Yo, guy --

The blocked "viewer" is in the UK and both@Haljackey and @Ulisse Wolf are "bang-on-target" with the problem.  (MANY THANKS to both of you Gentlemen.)  

I must confess I feel a bit stupid for not knowing anything about this on-going dispute.  I will, however, see that @AP is made aware of his current situation -- AND -- will "reach out and touch" his Member of Parliament -- !!

Censorship, theere´s something to say to protect children against violent content on the internet. Photo public storage site like Imgur or Photobucket or any site store online content should monitor the content users store at a reasonable frequent. Reverse age proof to prevent access seem little over exegeration as most content wich we are talking about will not be on public services, so what´s the point !  Social media, X, Instagram Facebook, Tumbler, Hinge or what they´re called age verification may be necesary but let users deal with censorship with the sites and don´t let authoriteis take controll over  private issues !

[TheTimvh1 922]

16 minutes ago, kschmidt said:

Censorship, theere´s something to say to protect children against violent content on the internet. Photo public storage site like Imgur or Photobucket or any site store online content should monitor the content users store at a reasonable frequent. Reverse age proof to prevent access seem little over exegeration as most content wich we are talking about will not be on public services, so what´s the point !  Social media, X, Instagram Facebook, Tumbler, Hinge or what they´re called age verification may be necesary but let users deal with censorship with the sites and don´t let authoriteis take controll over  private issues !

Thing is, it was never about protecting children, but about controlling adults.  Censorship is the tool of cowards and despots.  And censors always use 'think of the children' as a cover for their real goals and intentions.  It's just tyranny with an excuse to create faux sympathy while also serving as a psychological weapon that basically says "You're against our censorship?  You must not care about protecting the children."  It's about control, nothing more, nothing less.  Parental controls exist FOR A REASON!

The situation with the UK is terrible and is effecting not only British people, but people far beyond the UK's shores.

[matias93 7,535]

Hi!

Just moved the conversation about Imgur and the Online Safety Act out of the Showcase forum and into the Current Events one, as it is more fitting. Feel free to keep giving your opinions on the matter here.

[The Thinker 479]

Reading through some of the comments here, I would like to clear up a misconception: The so-called "Online Safety Act" has nothing to do with Imgur's decision to block the UK; it's parent company, MediaLabAI, already runs other sites which are OSA compliant.

The reason for Imgur's abandonedment of the UK is because it has recently been under investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office, the agency that enforces our data protection laws; the ICO had been investigating Imgur over how the site handled the personal data of minors, with a fine impending.  To reiterate & summarise: Imgur had been in violation of UK Data Protection laws.

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/09/statement-update-on-imgur-investigation/

The OSA is incredibly naff (understatement), but it's not to blame here.

[Jackspital 391]

As someone from the UK, the Online Safety Act is ridiculous. Guised as protecting the children in order to strip away our rights and privacies. I've always found that the forum here is a very positive, friendly, old-internet space. I am very concerned with the way the rest of the web is going.

It's just a shame that I am struggling to view a lot of content 

 

[TheTimvh1 922]

1 hour ago, Jackspital said:

As someone from the UK, the Online Safety Act is ridiculous. Guised as protecting the children in order to strip away our rights and privacies. I've always found that the forum here is a very positive, friendly, old-internet space. I am very concerned with the way the rest of the web is going.

It's just a shame that I am struggling to view a lot of content 

 

Add to that Kier and his ilk working to try and ban VPNs and it's basically China's infamous Great Firewall 2.0 being built in the UK.