IMGUR now blocked in the UK?

digitalscream · September 30

RaymondLin said:

digitalscream said:

gavin_axecaster said:

RandallFlagg said:

What other image hosting sites are recommended we use instead of imgur?

Funnily enough a day or two ago I came across this link when scrolling imgur for the first time in ages.
https://s3nd.pics/

Apparently it's been started by some old imgurians who were unhappy with the direction imgur was going. Got to be worth a look.

It'll get hit by Ofcom and the ICO as soon as it gets big enough to be useful, though.

At the risk of turning this into another Online Safety Act thread, we need to get used to the idea that the opportunities for the UK population to interact online are going to be shrinking massively over the next five years or so if nothing is done about the OSA. All the medium-sized sites (big enough to be noticed, not big enough to be able to fight the government) will either be blocked by Ofcom or block the UK themselves. All the small sites like this one will gradually die out, because a) nobody in their right mind would set up a new one based in the UK ever again, and b) all of our succession plans just went up in smoke for the same reason.

Discord, Facebook, Instagram, X and good old email will be the only options for talking to other people in the UK by 2035, and they're going to be heavily monitored and over-moderated.

Reminds you of a certain country in Asia? lol

Well, with one major exception: China has many sites for social interaction internally - we won't have any except the ones run by companies in the US who are too big to fail.

ICBM · September 30

S56035 said:

What, you mean a Les Paul with a Bigsby? #WontSomebodyThinkOfTheChildren

I prefer 80s stuff.

Les Paul with a Kahler.

Sorry, I know it’s considered a bit of a perversion these days, it’s just that I grew up then.

FX_Munkee · September 30

Don't worry everything is fine, within expected parameters, move along now...

https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/09/statement-update-on-imgur-investigation/

axisus · September 30

Well that's a pain in the ass. As with many people I've been storing images to share online there for years. I still have all my pics, I just can't share them any more.

menamestom · September 30

Classified ads are going to be fun.

FS - Eastman E20 OO. Adi spruce top, rosewood back and sites.

Excellent condition, comes with case.

Pic below:-

_______ __

 /   ------.   / ._`_
|  /         ~--~    \
| |             __    `.____________________ _^-----^
| |  I=|=======/--\=========================| o o o |
\ |  I=|=======\__/=========================|_o_o_o_|
 \|                   /                       ~    ~
   \       .---.    .
     -----'     ~~''

Whitecat · September 30

FX_Munkee said:

Don't worry everything is fine, within expected parameters, move along now...
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/09/statement-update-on-imgur-investigation/

Ok, so reading more on this, this whole debacle isn't about the OSA at all, it's about data protection violations. Hence this is coming from the ICO, not Ofcom.

digitalscream · September 30

FX_Munkee said:

Don't worry everything is fine, within expected parameters, move along now...
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/09/statement-update-on-imgur-investigation/

So, the question is...if the ICO are perfectly capable of protecting children online, as they suggest in that statement, then why do we need the Online Safety Act?

Also...totally expected response: "It's not our fault if companies decide to stop allowing access to the UK". Nobody in government seems to be wondering what the population will lose when all of these services decide the UK isn't worth the hassle.

RandallFlagg · September 30

lovestrat74 said:

Good for the forum, more people might sign up now

Some people, I for one, don't just use image hosting for this forum but for other sites too.

Habanero · September 30

Whitecat said:

FX_Munkee said:

Don't worry everything is fine, within expected parameters, move along now...
https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2025/09/statement-update-on-imgur-investigation/

Ok, so reading more on this, this whole debacle isn't about the OSA at all, it's about data protection violations. Hence this is coming from the ICO, not Ofcom.

I'm no legal expert, but that link seems to say that Imgur haven't implemented age verification for the account holder, and so faced a fine. Whilst this is different to the OSA age verification of people viewing content, it's really still in the same authoritarian ballpark.

swiller · September 30

menamestom said:
Classified ads are going to be fun.

FS - Eastman E20 OO. Adi spruce top, rosewood back and sites.

Excellent condition, comes with case.

Pic below:-

_______ __
 /   ------.   / ._`_
|  /         ~--~    \
| |             __    `.____________________ _^-----^
| |  I=|=======/--\=========================| o o o |
\ |  I=|=======\__/=========================|_o_o_o_|
 \|                   /                       ~    ~
   \       .---.    .
     -----'     ~~''

i hereby nominate the above for post of the month.

Jonathangus · September 30

menamestom said:
Classified ads are going to be fun.

FS - Eastman E20 OO. Adi spruce top, rosewood back and sites.

Excellent condition, comes with case.

Pic below:-

_______ __
 /   ------.   / ._`_
|  /         ~--~    \
| |             __    `.____________________ _^-----^
| |  I=|=======/--\=========================| o o o |
\ |  I=|=======\__/=========================|_o_o_o_|
 \|                   /                       ~    ~
   \       .---.    .
     -----'     ~~''

Classifieds rules require a price.

JerkMoans · September 30

Not my customary current affairs source, but:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2115228/image-site-imgur-pulls-out

digitalscream · September 30

JerkMoans said:

Not my customary current affairs source, but:

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2115228/image-site-imgur-pulls-out

Mr Capel said: “We have been clear that exiting the UK does not allow an organisation to avoid responsibility for any prior infringement of data protection law, and our investigation remains ongoing.

LOL. If a company has no presence in the UK, and no business with UK citizens, exactly what do they plan to do?

It'll be a humiliating defeat, just like Ofcom's attempt to go after 4chan.

RaymondLin · September 30

Good luck trying to enforce or do anything about that, they already abandoned this country's users.

Sporky · September 30

RandallFlagg said:

lovestrat74 said:

Good for the forum, more people might sign up now

Some people, I for one, don't just use image hosting for this forum but for other sites too.

Also I put some things in the hosting here, some go in my own space. Depends if I want to use the images elsewhere too.

Whitecat · September 30

The OSA has provisions in place that company directors/executives who don’t “comply” (ie, pay fines) can be arrested if they ever travel to the UK. Not sure if whatever law they are shirking here has similar but I’d they do that would be the last line of punishment - no travel here, ever.

digitalscream · September 30

Whitecat said:

The OSA has provisions in place that company directors/executives who don’t “comply” (ie, pay fines) can be arrested if they ever travel to the UK. Not sure if whatever law they are shirking here has similar but I’d they do that would be the last line of punishment - no travel here, ever.

Being totally frank, I'm not entirely sure that's a punishment right now.

I mean, c'mon. If you're a CEO of one of these companies and you've pulled out of the UK, what possible reason would you have for wanting to come here? Just about every holiday destination on the planet is a better option, and business-wise there's no draw here any more (especially given the lack of EU-ness about the place).

Ofcom and the government are acting like this is some great threat, but everyone they've waved it at has just said, "Meh, whatever" and got on with their day.

Whitecat · September 30

digitalscream said:

Whitecat said:

The OSA has provisions in place that company directors/executives who don’t “comply” (ie, pay fines) can be arrested if they ever travel to the UK. Not sure if whatever law they are shirking here has similar but I’d they do that would be the last line of punishment - no travel here, ever.

Being totally frank, I'm not entirely sure that's a punishment right now.

I mean, c'mon. If you're a CEO of one of these companies and you've pulled out of the UK, what possible reason would you have for wanting to come here? Just about every holiday destination on the planet is a better option, and business-wise there's no draw here any more (especially given the lack of EU-ness about the place).

Ofcom and the government are acting like this is some great threat, but everyone they've waved it at has just said, "Meh, whatever" and got on with their day.

These guys with too much money love stuff like Wimbledon, other championship sporting events (Euros/World Cup), Olympics, Led Zeppelin reunions and similar gig one-offs - not saying they couldn’t live without it or it would destroy their lives but it would be at most a mild disappointment in their life. That sort of stuff is the pull here for them and they’d have to give it up.

strtdv · September 30

Successive governments seem determined to harm the country for the last 10 years now. No-one with a button of tech savvy or common sense would think that the OSA was either a good idea or fit for purpose

RaymondLin · September 30

There are some kind of big ego, self-importance, narcissistic and IT illiterate people in charge who think the rest of the internet will just bow to our laws.

We are less than 5% of the size of China, and then there is the rest of the world on top of that. It's much easier to pretend we don't exist on the internet.

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IMGUR now blocked in the UK?

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