U.K.'s Online Safety Act sparks outcry after X restricts access to protest footage

By lauraharris // 2025-07-29

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The United Kingdom's Online Safety Act (OSA) came into full effect on July 25, triggering immediate criticism over censorship and overreach by the government.
X (formerly Twitter) restricted access to videos from anti-migration protests, including peaceful footage of arrests, citing "local laws" and requiring age verification to view content.
X now uses tools like email address cross-checks and "reverse address book" analysis to estimate users' ages – methods approved by Ofcom and also used by Google.
A petition to repeal the law has gained over 160,000 signatures, forcing a Parliamentary debate, while VPN usage in the U.K. spiked by over 700 percent as users tried to bypass restrictions.
Critics, including Elon Musk, warn the law is being weaponized to suppress political dissent rather than protect children, as originally intended.

The United Kingdom's controversial Online Safety Act (OSA) officially came into full effect on Friday, July 25, and its first day has ignited a storm of backlash, with critics accusing the government of enabling sweeping online censorship. British users of X, formerly known as Twitter, were among the first to feel the impact. Numerous posts containing videos from recent anti-migration protests were suddenly blocked behind new age-verification walls. The restricted footage includes scenes from demonstrations in Epping, Essex, following reports that a 14-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a migrant housed in government-funded accommodation. "Our fears appear to have been vindicated on the very first day of the Online Safety Act's enactment. Some footage of protests taking place this evening against illegal immigration is unavailable on X for at least some U.K. users, with a warning about a restriction due to 'local laws' appearing as the Online Safety Act comes into force. If you have a standard X account in the U.K., presumably the majority of British users, it appears that you may not be able to see any protest footage that contains violence. We're aware of one censored post that shows an arrest being made. We warned repeatedly about how censorious this piece of legislation would be," The Free Speech Union posted on X. Users trying to view these clips encountered warnings such as: "Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age." To proceed, they were prompted to verify their identity using more invasive age estimation tools. (Related: U.K. Reddit users now required to verify their age under new Online Safety Act.) In line with this, a petition to repeal the OSA has already gathered over 160,000 signatures, triggering a mandatory Parliamentary debate. Meanwhile, VPN usage surged by more than 700 percent in the U.K. that same day, as users scrambled for ways to access restricted content.

X now uses emails and contacts to block under-18s as U.K. age-check rules kick in

X, now owned by Musk, earlier confirmed that it would use controversial tools to estimate a user's age, including cross-referencing email addresses with third-party data from banks and utility companies. Another method, called "reverse address book median age estimation," which uses a user's online contacts to guess their likely age. The email estimation method, developed by U.K. firm Verifymy, is one of the few techniques officially approved by Ofcom for compliance. Google also uses the same method for certain age checks. Musk, known for his vocal stance on free speech, cryptically reposted a tweet on Saturday, July 26. "It's purpose is suppression of the people," he wrote, along with a retweet from an X user, who stated that, "The Online Safety Act was never about protecting anyone." The law, originally pitched by the previous Conservative government as a way to protect minors from pornography and violent imagery, is now being used to suppress politically sensitive material, including peaceful protest footage. Learn more about ID systems and other ways governments attempt to surveil their populations at Surveillance.news. Watch this video discussing how Canada is watching how the U.K. is implementing the Online Safety Act as it prepares its own anti-online content law.

This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com.

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X now uses emails and contacts to block under-18s as U.K. age-check rules kick in

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