The Wikimedia Foundation has sent a letter to the UK Parliament, asking for an exception for Wikipedia in the Online Safety Bill. They believe the Bill could harm non-profit knowledge platforms.
The foundation is urging the public to sign a petition to convince Parliament to introduce a clause in the Bill to protect free learning online. The petition has received support from notable individuals and organizations, including Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales and others.
The letter from Wikimedia Foundation includes a diverse group of organizations across culture, science, and charity. These organizations provide projects that benefit a wide range of people in the UK, including young and old, professionals and amateurs, with various interests.
Projects like Wikipedia, open science initiatives, and crowdsourced UK heritage catalogs are highly valuable in the social, cultural, and scientific aspects of the web.
Wikimedia also claims support from members of the House of Lords, where the next reading of the Bill will happen. They propose a simple addition to Schedule 1, exempting “public interest projects” from the law, to protect the right to freely access knowledge online.
They argue that the Online Safety Bill risks undermining the best parts of the Internet while aiming to address its worst aspects.
Supporters of the Bill argue that it will enhance online safety by making social media companies like Meta and Twitter more accountable for harmful content, such as child sexual abuse, terrorism, or violence, posted on their platforms.
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