Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has ignited a global debate by challenging the United Kingdom’s new Online Safety Act, asserting that laudable intentions risk becoming an ‘overreach’ that infringes upon fundamental digital rights and free expression.

At the heart of the contention lies the mandatory introduction of age checks on platforms like X, a measure primarily designed to shield children from harmful online content, including pornography, as stipulated by the British legislation.

While acknowledging the commendable aims of child protection, X’s Global Government Affairs account vociferously argued that the expansive regulatory scope of the Online Safety Act risks overshadowing its core purpose, transforming oversight into an infringement on freedom.

Beyond the principal law, X has also voiced strong criticism regarding a separate, new code of conduct for online platforms, which it deems “parallel and duplicative,” further complicating the regulatory landscape and raising questions about effective internet regulation.

The social network also expressed significant reservations about the implications for free speech stemming from a newly established police unit tasked with monitoring social media, perceiving this as a potential chilling effect on online discourse and privacy.

Despite these public objections and strong reservations concerning data privacy and digital rights, X proceeded with implementing formal age verification systems last week, not only in response to the British law but also aligning with new regulations in Ireland and the broader European Union.

This ongoing struggle over stringent age verification to access sensitive content in the UK mirrors similar, protracted debates seen in France regarding new rules for pornography sites, and echoes measures already adopted by numerous US states, highlighting a global trend in tech policy.

While proponents, particularly child safety campaigners, commend such requirements for enhancing online safety, opponents caution that these measures could inadvertently compromise legitimate users’ data privacy, potentially exposing them to risks such as identity theft if personal details used for verification were to be compromised.