May 09, 2025 20:00:00

Wikimedia Foundation takes legal action, claiming UK regulation would 'destroy' Wikipedia

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throwthedamnthing

The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has filed a legal challenge to the UK law that aims to restrict content related to illegal drugs, child sexual abuse, terrorism and other harmful content, arguing that the law could be applied to Wikipedia, exposing it to potential tampering and vandalism.

Wikimedia Foundation brings legal challenges to new UK Online Safety Act requirements – Diff
https://diff.wikimedia.org/2025/05/08/wikimedia-foundation-brings-legal-challenge-to-new-uk-online-safety-act-requirements/

Wikipedia's Nonprofit Host Brings Legal Challenge to New Online Safety Act (OSA) Regulations | by Wikimedia Foundation Policy | Wikimedia Foundation Policy | May, 2025 | Medium
https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/wikipedias-nonprofit-host-brings-legal-challenge-to-new-online-safety-act-osa-regulations-0f9153102f29

Wikipedia challenging UK law it says exposes it to 'manipulation and vandalism' | Wikipedia | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/08/wikipedia-challenging-uk-law-it-says-exposes-it-to-manipulation-and-vandalism

In the UK, the Online Safety Act, which aims to protect children's safety on the Internet, was enacted in 2023 and has been gradually implemented since the same year.

However,

Apple and numerous human rights groups have expressed concerns about the law, fearing it could undermine freedom of speech and lead to excessive censorship, and the Wikimedia Foundation has also opposed the law since then.

Wikipedia and human rights groups oppose amendments to online safety bill that would impose prison sentences on company executives who fail to protect children online - GIGAZINE

The Online Safety Act was launched despite much debate, but in February 2025, an amendment to the law that would further specify its regulations was passed by Parliament, and it is highly likely that Wikipedia will be classified as 'Category 1,' the most strict category.

'Category 1' is intended for large commercial platforms and social media that have widespread public impact, and companies in this category will be required to comply with burdensome compliance regulations such as verifying the identity of users and blocking anonymous users from posting articles.

The Wikimedia Foundation argued that if these measures were applied to Wikipedia, they could undermine the safety and privacy of Wikipedia's volunteer editors and could lead to articles being altered or destroyed, diverting resources that could be better spent on protecting and improving content.

As an example of how vague the criteria are, the Wikimedia Foundation has stated that even a user's selection of the ' Picture of the Day ' on Wikipedia's homepage could be considered a 'content recommendation system,' one of the requirements for classification in Category 1.

The judicial review, filed in the UK High Court, does not challenge the Online Safety Act itself, but rather the proposed changes which will determine how Category 1 platforms are designated.

'We took action to protect Wikipedia's volunteer users and the global access and integrity of free knowledge,' Wikimedia Foundation lead counsel Phil Bradley-Schmig said in a statement about the lawsuit seeking judicial review of the categorization rules.