Comment by oliwarner
4 months ago
I thought that posts with comments are an explicit exception from the OSB.
From Ofcom:
> this exemption would cover online services where the only content users can upload or share is comments on media articles you have published
From the Ofcom regulations (https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/onli...):
> 1.17 A U2U service is exempt if the only way users can communicate on it is by posting comments or reviews on the service provider’s own content (as distinct from another user’s content).
A blog is only exempt if users communicate to the blogpost author, on the topic of the blogpost. If they comment on each other, or go off-topic, then the blog is not exempt.
That's why that exemption is basically useless. Anyone can write "hey commenter number 3 i agree commenter number 1's behaviour is shocking" and your exemption is out the window.
Yeah I see what you mean, that does seem oddly useless. And thanks for finding the correct section.
I'd like to say we could trust the implementation and enforcement of this law to make sense and follow the spirit of existing blog comment sections rather than the letter of a law that could be twisted against almost anyone accepting comments —for most people GDPR compliance enforcement has been a light touch, with warnings rather than immediate fines— but that's not really how laws should work.