When internet regulation goes wrong, Roblox goes all-in on age verification and the real Zuck

Hello and welcome to Everything in Moderation's Week in Review, your need-to-know news and analysis about platform policy, content moderation and internet regulation. It's written by me, Ben Whitelaw and supported by members like you.

There’s a few spots left for the back-to-school/birthday drinks that I’m hosting in London in a few weeks’ time with Georgia Iacovou (Horrific/Terrific). Judging by the folks that have registered, you'll want to be there. And if you’re an organisation or company interested in teaming up for a future event, get in touch — I'd love to talk.

One of the things that (I think) makes EiM special is the sheer breadth of experience across its readership. Which is borne out in the recent new subscribers from ActiveFence, NextDoor, Qoria, Patreon, Hinge, Canva, Santa Clara University, Internet Matters, Sony and elsewhere. You can find more about who subscribes to EiM here.

Here's everything you you need to know this week — BW

Policies

New and emerging internet policy and online speech regulation

This week’s Gen Z protests in Nepal — which have led to more than 50 deaths and more than 1300 injuries, according to Al Jazeera — show just what's at stake when it comes to government attempts to regulate the internet. Medianama has the best explainer on how an impromptu social media ban lit longstanding flames of discontent and led to widespread violence and the resignation of Prime Minster KP Sharma Oli.

It's also one of the main talking points in this week's Ctrl-Alt-Speech.

It’s a Banned, Banned, Banned, Banned World - Ctrl-Alt-Speech

In this week’s round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover:Nepal to block some social media including Facebook (Reuters)Why Nepal Banned 26 Social Media Platforms And What It Means (…

Buzzsprout

A significant and and long-in the-making milestone passed in Australia this week — six new industry codes designed to protect children from “lawful but awful content”. It takes the total number of online safety codes down under up to 15 and comes after months of back-and forth between industry associations and the eSafety Commission, which criticised its first version of the codes back in April (EiM #275).

Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner highlighted the codes specific focus on AI chatbots — which have attracted significant media attention and will now be the subject of a US Federal Trade Commission probe — as well as “how a co-regulatory approach can be successful and deliver meaningful safety protections”. The codes come into effect March 2026. 

Also in this section...

• Competition law won’t break up Big Tech (Financial Times)
• When Trolls Take On Tyrants: 4chan and Kiwi Farms Sue the UK Over Extraterritorial Censorship (Techdirt)
• Your Internet Access Is at Risk. We’re Speaking Up (Internet Society) 

How (and why) I use AI to write T&S Insider

Prompted by other newsletter writers, I’m sharing how I use AI in my writing process — and why I’ll never let it draft a full edition.

Everything in Moderation*Alice Hunsberger

Products

Features, functionality and technology shaping online speech

From last week but worth noting: Roblox announced that it will roll-out its age estimation system to all users globally as part of its “long-term vision as a platform for all ages”. In a release, Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said expanding its facial age estimation, ID verification and parental consent methods would “limit communication between adults and minors”, which is has faced ongoing heat for over the years I've been writing EiM (EiM #296).

Platforms

Online spaces and the application of content guidelines

Bluesky updated its guidelines (EiM #300) TikTok followed suit (EiM #301) , and now Discord this week joined them both in publishing a refined version of its policies. The latest update clarifies how it uses your content and data, adds more transparency around sponsored content (their “Quests” system), and provides legal/regulatory tweaks to comply with laws like the UK’s Online Safety Act.

Snap has released an slick new educational programme "designed to empower [teen users] with proactive strategies for a safer experience”. Developed in conjunction with Common Sense Media, Thorn and other safety non profits, The Keys uses a series of short videos to explain online risks such as bullying and NCII as well as outline Snap’s tools and resources. Evan Spiegel, Snap’s CEO and co-founder, even introduces the programme (Chief Equivocation Officer, March 2025).

First look: I signed up to have a look around and was a little underwhelmed: 

• Users must login via email — and share lots of personal data — which no doubt will limit those who make use of The Keys as an educational resource.
• The videos make use of Snap’s Teen Council for Digital Well-being, which makes it feel less topdown that other safety resources. However, it's not clear why they — and not Snap's T&S team — are fronting the content.
• The real-life scenarios — for example, of a young football player bullied by his teammates in a group chat — and subsequent quizzes are at least good for showing how no scenario is clear-cut.

Also in this section...

• Wikipedia is resilient because it’s boring (The Verge)
• A top Meta policy manager is leaving — and she rated the company's performance on the way out (Business Insider)

People

Those impacting the future of online safety and moderation

If you thought being named Ronald McDonald was a tough cross to bear, spare a thought for the bankruptcy attorney in Indianapolis who’s spent years being locked out of Facebook — for being called Mark Zuckerberg.

As TechCrunch reports, the real Zuck (he’s older than the Meta CEO) is suing Meta after repeated suspensions of his personal and business accounts, despite verifying his identity multiple times. 

It’s a reminder of the difficulty of identity enforcement, particualrly in an era of growing automated moderaton. But at least Zuck senior has a sense of humour; his website — iammarkzuckerberg.com — outlines all the ways Mark E. Zuckerberg has made his life challenging, not least as a result of dozens of daily phone calls”from angry people demanding tech support”.

Posts of note (creators edition)

Handpicked posts that caught my eye this week

• “A new book by Petter Tornberg & Justus Uitermark argues that platforms see differently — and that shift changes how power works in society.” - Untangled’s Charley Johnson with a) a book recommendation and b) some great analysis about platforms vs states.
• "But a week before the book came out, I had coffee with a friend that clarified something for me. We often use the word politics when we mean policy, and policy when we really mean politics. Nick conflates the two quite a bit in this book, and once I noticed it, I couldn’t unsee it." - Anchor Change's Katie Harbath has got me excited for the return of the Cleggmeister.
• "The architects of the Digital Services Act may want to look at how transparency requirements are imposed in Singapore and Taiwan because Benjamin Shultz and I found that in those locales the disclosures were tied to real companies." - Alexios Mantzarlis of Indicator fame shows how seriously platforms are taking EU ad disclosures (ie not very).