Ah, the classic British comfort blanket: as experienced today chatting with a group owner on a social media platform.
“It’s just a law. No one’s ever actually going to enforce it.”
The same people who said this about seatbelts, smoking bans, GDPR, and TV license inspectors are now nodding sagely over pints, telling everyone, “This UK Online Safety Act? Nah. Don’t worry. No one’s getting prosecuted. Look at the EU’s version, nothing happened there either!”
Oh, sweet summer children: “lalala” fingers in ears; see no problem, hear nothing either…..
Let’s Break Down This Logic:
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Step 1: A country passes a law.
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Step 2: No one gets punished immediately.
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Step 3: The law must be fake and meaningless!
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Step 4: Chaos reigns, and the bad guys win forever.
Flawless reasoning, if you’re six years old and think bedtime rules don’t count because your sister stayed up late once.
“But the EU Passed Online Safety Rules and No One Was Jailed!”
Correct. The EU Digital Services Act did roll out, and sure, we haven’t seen Mark Zuckerberg frogmarched out of Meta HQ yet.
(Though admit it, you would watch that livestream.)
But here’s the thing, laws don’t usually start with CEOs in handcuffs on Day One. It’s more of a slow burn: warnings, fines, enforcement actions… THEN if a company keeps acting like a digital sewer pipe, things get real.
It’s a bit like getting parking tickets. Ignore enough of them, and yes—eventually, they tow your car. Probably while you’re in the queue for a meal deal.
Why Will It Be Different in the UK?
Well… Ofcom’s involved; that’s right, the same folks who fine TV stations when someone swears before the watershed now have actual legal power over the internet.
They’re not there to send you to jail for accidentally typing “duck” wrong. They’re there to fine the platforms, block the worst offenders, and if necessary, make examples out of tech execs.
And unlike your mate Dave down the pub, they really do have enforcement teams and a big stick worth 10% of global turnover. That’s not “£200 and a slap on the wrist” territory. That’s “Zuck looks nervously at his bank account” levels.
“It’ll Never Happen” — A Brief History of Famous Last Words
Let’s check in with other things people swore would “never happen”:
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Smoking in pubs will never be banned – 2007: Pouff, gone.
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GDPR fines? No one’s going to get fined – Google: Hold my data.
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They’ll never fine Facebook – Meta: Here’s a billion. Please stop.
Starting to see a pattern?
Reality Check: Enforcement Takes Time, But It Comes
The reason people think nothing happens is because the legal gears turn slowly. Governments don’t hand out million-pound fines via text message like a dodgy HMRC scam. It takes investigations, warnings, compliance deadlines… and then the hammer falls.
By the time someone’s getting prosecuted, the “it’ll never happen” crowd has usually forgotten what they were even wrong about.
Final Thought: Just Because You’re Used to Getting Away with Stuff Online Doesn’t Mean the Platforms Will
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: users won’t get prosecuted for scrolling past a dodgy meme or sharing an unsavoury pic. But if you run a platform?
Let misinformation, child abuse content, or scams run wild and ignore Ofcom’s calls? Someone’s losing their bonus or losing their job.
And somewhere, someone on Twitter/X will post, “Wait, they’re actually enforcing this???”
Yes, Karen. Yes, they are. Eventually.
Just because the law isn’t enforced the very next day doesn’t mean it’s all for show. Ask anyone who used to smoke indoors or let kids buy bottles of cider.
The internet might not change overnight, I do believe that when fines start dropping, you’ll hear the digital wailing from Silicon Valley to Shoreditch.
Photo by Mahdi Bafande
