Wikipedia loses court challenge against Online Safety Act rules
The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), which is not a profit aimed, tried to exempt from the regulations introduced in March with an anonymous editor (BLN).
They argued that the compatibility would force the online encyclopedia to apply verification to reluctant users or to limit the UK user base.
However, in a decision on Monday, Mr. Justice Johnson rejected these allegations and proposed ways to operate within the law without excessive damage to Wikipedia’s operations.
The online security law includes provisions aimed at reducing harmful content.
Some of the regulations classify some sites as a category defined by the number of monthly users and systems shared by a site.
For WMF, Rupert Paines said that the scientific, innovation and technology department, which advocated a previous hearing, has expanded the arrangements.
If it was classified as Wikipedia category and verification would be mandatory for all users, it would make the articles “meaningless, because the content from non -confirmed users would be filtered.
The arrangements have been designed more for “big, profitable technology companies such as Facebook, X and Instagram, arguing that imposing verification of Wikipedia users will violate human rights.
For the Government, Cecilia Ivimy KC thought that ministers have reviewed the guidance of offcoming and whether Wikipedia would be exempted from arrangements and refused to refuse it.
Wikipedia said that they decided that “in principle is a suitable service to implement a category task ve and that the ministers decided how they have reached this election and that it was not“ reasonable basic or irrational ”.
Justice Johnson, who rejected WMF and Bln’s claims, said that his decision did not give a green light to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to implement a regime that would significantly prevent Wikipedia’s operations ”.
He added that doing this would mean that the government should justify imposition proportion.
The judge also said that the decision to make Wikipedia a category is now lying with Offom.
If this, it may lead to a possible path for more legal proceedings.
“It is a public law decision that potentially appropriate for the court’s investigation of the court due to a public law error,“ Adalet Johnson said, Johnson said.
