If you need urgent support, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E. For Crisis Support (open 24/7) text THEMIX to 85258.
Read the community guidelines before posting ✨
Want to share your experience of using our Community?
We're collecting Community Case Studies which could be used on our website, on social media, shared with our volunteers, or shared with third parties who may be interested to hear how online communities help people.
Click here to fill out our anonymous form
We're collecting Community Case Studies which could be used on our website, on social media, shared with our volunteers, or shared with third parties who may be interested to hear how online communities help people.
Click here to fill out our anonymous form
Best Of
Rant
I’ve sort of just given up with various things. The only consistent I have in my boyfriend and work.
I’m getting frustrated with the mental health sub team I’m under (CEDT)
They invited me to a peer support group and the lady running it said she’d meet me outside to ease my anxiety of going, however everytime I’ve gone to has been cancelled, this annoys me as for me to get there it is an hours drive and I’m not getting told it’s cancelled, therefore each time i go I’m wasting fuel. I have drafted an email to the lady saying I’m not turning up anymore etc and that I’ll just have wellbeing calls because at this point I can’t keep doing this.
The only thing is I don’t want to have wellbeing calls as they are never consistent in the time apart, like they are supposed to be every 6 weeks but they were never that consistent. But I also tend to withhold the truth because I don’t like talking about anything I’m going through. The team also annoyed me as they are the ones who spoke to my GP about only giving me a week of my antidepressants and folic acid because I have a tendency to stockpile and not take them so apparently I’m more “at risk” especially when heading into a crisis.
I’m annoyed at myself because I’ve relapsed with my self harm, I manage at the most a week before I relapse again but right now it just seems to be happening a lot more often and I’m struggling to hide it from those around me.
The only good thing as such is I spoke with my general manager at work and she said I’m like her little success story, because I’ve come a long way in myself and in work. She is aware of my MH struggles including an attempt (only due to the police attending my work place), so I spoke with her yesterday and mentioned how I’ve deferred camp America until 2027 as to focus on my mental health due to the fact between now and April 2026 I could start DBT and regardless of when I start it will be a year long process. Therefore logically I thought it was best to not go this coming year, which my GM agreed with.
My GM did make the comment on how she thinks I was just a bit bored so my mental health just kept getting worse and there was no improvement. She also said how I seem to be prioritising my mental health and making sure I get better etc and said “only because my boyfriend makes sure I take my medication when I don’t want to” and she said “well you know how I feel about you not taking them”. From all this my GM and Ex-AGM both said I thrive at work when my mental health is low because it keeps me busy and out of my head. My GM has also given me tasks to do throughout winter with her because she knows I enjoy paperwork and organising to I’ll be doing a lot of that which I’m looking forward to.
Despite a lot of this though I’m still struggling with my mental health and I don’t even k ow what to do.
I’m struggling to distract myself from suicidal thoughts and ideations
I’m struggling to stay in control and not relapse into self harm
I’m struggling to maintain my “control” with my eating disorder
In general I’m just struggling but putting up a front so no one catches on because I don’t want others to know or worry because I’m not worth that
Not really sure why I wrote But thanks for reading if you got this far
I’m getting frustrated with the mental health sub team I’m under (CEDT)
They invited me to a peer support group and the lady running it said she’d meet me outside to ease my anxiety of going, however everytime I’ve gone to has been cancelled, this annoys me as for me to get there it is an hours drive and I’m not getting told it’s cancelled, therefore each time i go I’m wasting fuel. I have drafted an email to the lady saying I’m not turning up anymore etc and that I’ll just have wellbeing calls because at this point I can’t keep doing this.
The only thing is I don’t want to have wellbeing calls as they are never consistent in the time apart, like they are supposed to be every 6 weeks but they were never that consistent. But I also tend to withhold the truth because I don’t like talking about anything I’m going through. The team also annoyed me as they are the ones who spoke to my GP about only giving me a week of my antidepressants and folic acid because I have a tendency to stockpile and not take them so apparently I’m more “at risk” especially when heading into a crisis.
I’m annoyed at myself because I’ve relapsed with my self harm, I manage at the most a week before I relapse again but right now it just seems to be happening a lot more often and I’m struggling to hide it from those around me.
The only good thing as such is I spoke with my general manager at work and she said I’m like her little success story, because I’ve come a long way in myself and in work. She is aware of my MH struggles including an attempt (only due to the police attending my work place), so I spoke with her yesterday and mentioned how I’ve deferred camp America until 2027 as to focus on my mental health due to the fact between now and April 2026 I could start DBT and regardless of when I start it will be a year long process. Therefore logically I thought it was best to not go this coming year, which my GM agreed with.
My GM did make the comment on how she thinks I was just a bit bored so my mental health just kept getting worse and there was no improvement. She also said how I seem to be prioritising my mental health and making sure I get better etc and said “only because my boyfriend makes sure I take my medication when I don’t want to” and she said “well you know how I feel about you not taking them”. From all this my GM and Ex-AGM both said I thrive at work when my mental health is low because it keeps me busy and out of my head. My GM has also given me tasks to do throughout winter with her because she knows I enjoy paperwork and organising to I’ll be doing a lot of that which I’m looking forward to.
Despite a lot of this though I’m still struggling with my mental health and I don’t even k ow what to do.
I’m struggling to distract myself from suicidal thoughts and ideations
I’m struggling to stay in control and not relapse into self harm
I’m struggling to maintain my “control” with my eating disorder
In general I’m just struggling but putting up a front so no one catches on because I don’t want others to know or worry because I’m not worth that
Not really sure why I wrote But thanks for reading if you got this far
RIP Buddy 💔
Today I had to have my little guy put down due to old age and a growth in the tummy 💔
5/5/23 - 7/10/25 💔🕊️




5/5/23 - 7/10/25 💔🕊️





8
Re: September 2025 achievements!
I can't believe how September has flown by to be fair and now we're in October spooky season month, my favourite season of the year!. Big congrats to everyone this month and for September too, always remember eventhough you may not feel it but each small step is a big part in a longer journey.
Now onto my September achievments:
- I've started my internship this month doing a work placement at a personal hygiene company that specialises in hand dryers etc. I'm currently working in their marketing department and I'm learning about everything marketing!. The internship is mainly designed for neurodivergent people in mind and the aim is to help us to get into full time employment.
- My routine is slowly starting to improve because of the earlier starts and having to start at 9 in the morning. So I've been going to bed earlier.
Now onto my September achievments:
- I've started my internship this month doing a work placement at a personal hygiene company that specialises in hand dryers etc. I'm currently working in their marketing department and I'm learning about everything marketing!. The internship is mainly designed for neurodivergent people in mind and the aim is to help us to get into full time employment.
- My routine is slowly starting to improve because of the earlier starts and having to start at 9 in the morning. So I've been going to bed earlier.

5
Re: September 2025 achievements!
Was waiting for this
Started a course which is learning stuff about interviews, cover letters, CV stuff etc for jobs, I have been most days, just the first couple of days I was deciding on what course to do, another longer course which I got offered or the one Im on, I decided to just go with the one Im on, shorter. Its quite far and costing more fuel, which I'm hopefully going to get reimbursed but Im still going, I just wish some people would know how much I want this
Small one but I found a way to overcome my overthinking, basically just deleting messages from just myself so I can't look back and overthink
Continuing my online counselling
I had a job interview in early September, didn't get it but Im doing something right to get an interview, I got it through no organisations or anything just through applying myself
I've improved my cv with a call from National Careers Service
Just saying determined is one, Ive had setbacks and been trying since early last year but I'm still here not giving up chasing them goals coz I know I will get there and I need this, I can do this.
Congratulations to everyone who has already posted and posts after this, they all sound great. All achievements are great big or small.
Started a course which is learning stuff about interviews, cover letters, CV stuff etc for jobs, I have been most days, just the first couple of days I was deciding on what course to do, another longer course which I got offered or the one Im on, I decided to just go with the one Im on, shorter. Its quite far and costing more fuel, which I'm hopefully going to get reimbursed but Im still going, I just wish some people would know how much I want this
Small one but I found a way to overcome my overthinking, basically just deleting messages from just myself so I can't look back and overthink
Continuing my online counselling
I had a job interview in early September, didn't get it but Im doing something right to get an interview, I got it through no organisations or anything just through applying myself
I've improved my cv with a call from National Careers Service
Just saying determined is one, Ive had setbacks and been trying since early last year but I'm still here not giving up chasing them goals coz I know I will get there and I need this, I can do this.
Congratulations to everyone who has already posted and posts after this, they all sound great. All achievements are great big or small.
Re: September 2025 achievements!
- i donated to my local air ambulance charity.
- i started volunteering in my local animal shelter. ( few days a week!)
- 2 months free from sh
- im doing my maths course to try pass my maths.
better month this month.
proud of you all. 
- i started volunteering in my local animal shelter. ( few days a week!)
- 2 months free from sh
- im doing my maths course to try pass my maths.
better month this month.



6
guilt about not revising enough
i did 30 minutes of revision yesterday and 45 minutes of revision today but i feel guilty because on the lead up to my mock exams i should be revising more. i know the quality of revision matters more than the quantity but all ive been doing is reading the textbook and writing down notes. im not doing any practice questions at the moment so i feel like a lot of this information isnt sticking to my head. im doing a level 3 foundation diploma btec in business so im only doing one subject in college. next year (if i pass) ill do the extended diploma. and ive tried doing flashcards in the past when revising for my gcses but i was unable to be consistent with it because im quite an unorganised person. im also unsure whether for a btec there are any practice or exam questions in the first place so if there are please tell me.
The Online Safety Act - Why I believe it fundamentally fails at safeguarding and fails as a law
A few days ago, the topic of the Online Safety Act came up in chat. I wanted to set out my stance clearly here with my sources so we can have a healthy, informed debate about it. I believe the online safety act is one of the most flawed laws ever written, it fails at genuine safeguarding, and why I believe it’s wrong to claim it provides effective protection. Please feel free to debate this or explain why you disagree, I'm really interested to hear your opinions on it and your unique perspectives. Also, I'll post next week as to why i think the governments intended Digital ID system is immensely flawed, and how it can be improved.
Why the Online Safety Act is a poor law (in my opinion)
The first issue is how weak the law is in practice. It can be bypassed with a VPN. That’s all it takes to digitally step outside UK jurisdiction and beyond the reach of the Act. All a user need do is simply set their digital location to another country and suddenly they're outside the online safety act's jurisdiction logically. Most young people already know this. They use VPNs to watch shows unavailable on UK Netflix or YouTube by changing their device's logical location. NordVPN adverts are practically everywhere on youtube showing this, so this isn’t some obscure trick. The people most affected are those who aren’t tech-savvy, which is older generations mostly, not younger generations who the act is supposed to be protecting. When the most recent phase of the Act came into effect, VPN usage in the UK actually spiked by over 1400%, with ProtonVPN alone reporting an 1800% increase in UK signups almost immediately [1][2]. Instead of safeguarding users, the government has unintentionally driven many of them into the arms of VPN providers and outside the protection of existing British safeguarding laws, to which even Ofcom have admitted this is known about, and they have failed to come up with any solution. This has wider consequences. UK ISPs are currently mandated to keep logs of all users’ internet traffic for one year. DNS lookups, IP addresses, metadata, and full browsing activity are all stored under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 for a year, and act that I myself have always been in support of. By pushing people towards VPNs, these logs become practically useless. Once someone starts using a VPN, all the ISP sees only an encrypted tunnel, nothing else. [10][11][12][13]. So in other words, this accountability and safeguarding measure is rendered useless. So, in effect, the OSA, by pushing users toward VPN’s, undermines one of the few practical accountability tools the UK already has. Speaking technology wise, this law does not stand up.
Another major flaw is vagueness. Laws should define terms precisely to prevent loopholes or overreach. The OSA does the opposite. it leaves key phrases vague and introduces terms like “harmful but not illegal” without clarity of what is even covered by that. The predictable result is that platforms, fearing fines of up to 10 % of global revenue, will over censor to avoid risking said fine. We’ve already seen real consequences. A speech in Parliament by Conservative MP Katie Lam, discussing grooming gangs, was restricted online under the online safety act [3]. So already, “harmful but not illegal” has already been extended to suppression of parliamentary discourse.
Thirdly, one section of the act previously demanded that encryption algorithms include government backdoors, not just for UK users but globally. That would mean UK authorities potentially being able to access private communications between two US citizens in the US, for example. Encryption is foundational to global digital security and by having a backdoor, nations using said algorithms would also be compromised. Unsurprisingly, the move triggered backlash. The US Director of National Intelligence called the demand a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties” [4]. US lawmakers condemned it outright and raised concerns about treaty compliance [5]. There are lawsuits filed against Ofcom for jurisdictional overreach on US soil and suppressing US constitutional rights [6]. Faced with this, the UK eventually dropped the blanket backdoor requirement, but the fact it was even proposed shows how poorly thought-out the law was from the get go [7], far from being advanced.
Now, the fourth point is that when it comes to digital ID and age verification, the rollout has been chaos. Again, people with VPNs bypass it instantly. The people left with said ID checks are often those with the least tech savvy skills. It’s no surprise that cases of identity fraud have already surged [17], and legal forums are full of people trying to recover from scam sites posing as official verifiers. Additionally, ethical hackers have demonstrated that some digital ID systems can be bypassed in seconds [8]. So even these technical safeguards are weak. It’s especially crazy that less than five years ago, the UK introduced strong data protection laws to limit how big tech collect and use personal data. Now, the government demands that users hand over even more sensitive information, including photo ID to the same private companies. Worse, many of these big tech firms outsource the ID verification to companies outside of GDPR jurisdiction, where those same protections do not apply. It's an insane reversal of the data protection principles the UK once championed. At the very least, as much as i hate such government overreach, the safer option would be having a government agency verify said ID’s, as opposed to outsourced non GDPR compliant third parties, and even that wouldn’t fully work.
Perhaps the most concerning phrase in the OSA is “harmful but not illegal.” By leaving “harmful” undefined, the government and regulators have enormous power to suppress a wide range of content, provided they label it as such. Files released by U.S. Senator Jim Jordan revealed the UK government previously asked platforms to restrict debate on “two-tier policing” and immigration [9]. Civil liberties groups have also reported that government units flagged online criticisms of asylum policy for removal.
The online safety act does not effectively safeguard anyone. Its stated aim is protection, but in reality, it pushes users toward anonymity and VPNs, undermines existing accountability laws, leaves key terms undefined and up for interpretation, censors legitimate political speech, jeopardises international relations and encryption norms, and potentially dismantles prior data protection ideals. In my view, it’s among the most problematic and flawed laws ever introduced regarding tech. Moreover, almost everything the OSA claims to address is already covered under existing UK law. The Sexual Offences Act, Terrorism Acts, Suicide Act 1961, Communications Act 2003, Malicious Communications Act 1988, Public Order Act, and Fraud Act to name a few. These already define what illegal content is with clarity and enforceability. Instead, these definitions are not enough for the government and expanded it to legal content too without stating specifically what fell under that banner.
So, here’s how the OSA could be improved to actually protect people effectively:
1 - Precise Definitions — Replace vague categories like “harmful but not illegal” with explicit references to existing laws. Platforms should be complicit if they knowingly host content that violates those laws.
2 - Regulate VPNs, Don’t Ban Them — VPNs are practically impossible to ban. China, even with the great firewall and the strictest online censorship laws in the world can’t enforce their bans, nor even detect obfuscated VPN’s. Instead, the law can be improved by trying to apply similar logging or accountability requirements to VPN providers that ISP’s face, rather than banning and forcing them underground further out of grasp.
3 - Reasonable Digital ID Limits — Digital ID verification will always have loopholes. VPN logs might help detect evasion, but realistically without global coordination enforcement on VPN’s it will be fragmentary due to evasion. This was acknowledged somewhat by Ofcom.
4 - No Encryption Backdoors — Backdoor demands risk losing tech services, harming data security, and causing diplomatic fallout. The UK should have discarded that approach entirely [4][5][7] as US tech firms will not comply.
5 - Preserve Proactive Removal of Illegal Content — One worthwhile element of the OSA is forcing platforms to actively seek and remove illegal content rather than waiting for reports. That should remain as it was a positive improvement. But “harmful-but-legal” must go, and “harmful” should be constrained to violations of existing law. Expand those existing law definitions if required.
References
Why the Online Safety Act is a poor law (in my opinion)
The first issue is how weak the law is in practice. It can be bypassed with a VPN. That’s all it takes to digitally step outside UK jurisdiction and beyond the reach of the Act. All a user need do is simply set their digital location to another country and suddenly they're outside the online safety act's jurisdiction logically. Most young people already know this. They use VPNs to watch shows unavailable on UK Netflix or YouTube by changing their device's logical location. NordVPN adverts are practically everywhere on youtube showing this, so this isn’t some obscure trick. The people most affected are those who aren’t tech-savvy, which is older generations mostly, not younger generations who the act is supposed to be protecting. When the most recent phase of the Act came into effect, VPN usage in the UK actually spiked by over 1400%, with ProtonVPN alone reporting an 1800% increase in UK signups almost immediately [1][2]. Instead of safeguarding users, the government has unintentionally driven many of them into the arms of VPN providers and outside the protection of existing British safeguarding laws, to which even Ofcom have admitted this is known about, and they have failed to come up with any solution. This has wider consequences. UK ISPs are currently mandated to keep logs of all users’ internet traffic for one year. DNS lookups, IP addresses, metadata, and full browsing activity are all stored under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 for a year, and act that I myself have always been in support of. By pushing people towards VPNs, these logs become practically useless. Once someone starts using a VPN, all the ISP sees only an encrypted tunnel, nothing else. [10][11][12][13]. So in other words, this accountability and safeguarding measure is rendered useless. So, in effect, the OSA, by pushing users toward VPN’s, undermines one of the few practical accountability tools the UK already has. Speaking technology wise, this law does not stand up.
Another major flaw is vagueness. Laws should define terms precisely to prevent loopholes or overreach. The OSA does the opposite. it leaves key phrases vague and introduces terms like “harmful but not illegal” without clarity of what is even covered by that. The predictable result is that platforms, fearing fines of up to 10 % of global revenue, will over censor to avoid risking said fine. We’ve already seen real consequences. A speech in Parliament by Conservative MP Katie Lam, discussing grooming gangs, was restricted online under the online safety act [3]. So already, “harmful but not illegal” has already been extended to suppression of parliamentary discourse.
Thirdly, one section of the act previously demanded that encryption algorithms include government backdoors, not just for UK users but globally. That would mean UK authorities potentially being able to access private communications between two US citizens in the US, for example. Encryption is foundational to global digital security and by having a backdoor, nations using said algorithms would also be compromised. Unsurprisingly, the move triggered backlash. The US Director of National Intelligence called the demand a “clear and egregious violation of Americans’ privacy and civil liberties” [4]. US lawmakers condemned it outright and raised concerns about treaty compliance [5]. There are lawsuits filed against Ofcom for jurisdictional overreach on US soil and suppressing US constitutional rights [6]. Faced with this, the UK eventually dropped the blanket backdoor requirement, but the fact it was even proposed shows how poorly thought-out the law was from the get go [7], far from being advanced.
Now, the fourth point is that when it comes to digital ID and age verification, the rollout has been chaos. Again, people with VPNs bypass it instantly. The people left with said ID checks are often those with the least tech savvy skills. It’s no surprise that cases of identity fraud have already surged [17], and legal forums are full of people trying to recover from scam sites posing as official verifiers. Additionally, ethical hackers have demonstrated that some digital ID systems can be bypassed in seconds [8]. So even these technical safeguards are weak. It’s especially crazy that less than five years ago, the UK introduced strong data protection laws to limit how big tech collect and use personal data. Now, the government demands that users hand over even more sensitive information, including photo ID to the same private companies. Worse, many of these big tech firms outsource the ID verification to companies outside of GDPR jurisdiction, where those same protections do not apply. It's an insane reversal of the data protection principles the UK once championed. At the very least, as much as i hate such government overreach, the safer option would be having a government agency verify said ID’s, as opposed to outsourced non GDPR compliant third parties, and even that wouldn’t fully work.
Perhaps the most concerning phrase in the OSA is “harmful but not illegal.” By leaving “harmful” undefined, the government and regulators have enormous power to suppress a wide range of content, provided they label it as such. Files released by U.S. Senator Jim Jordan revealed the UK government previously asked platforms to restrict debate on “two-tier policing” and immigration [9]. Civil liberties groups have also reported that government units flagged online criticisms of asylum policy for removal.
The online safety act does not effectively safeguard anyone. Its stated aim is protection, but in reality, it pushes users toward anonymity and VPNs, undermines existing accountability laws, leaves key terms undefined and up for interpretation, censors legitimate political speech, jeopardises international relations and encryption norms, and potentially dismantles prior data protection ideals. In my view, it’s among the most problematic and flawed laws ever introduced regarding tech. Moreover, almost everything the OSA claims to address is already covered under existing UK law. The Sexual Offences Act, Terrorism Acts, Suicide Act 1961, Communications Act 2003, Malicious Communications Act 1988, Public Order Act, and Fraud Act to name a few. These already define what illegal content is with clarity and enforceability. Instead, these definitions are not enough for the government and expanded it to legal content too without stating specifically what fell under that banner.
So, here’s how the OSA could be improved to actually protect people effectively:
1 - Precise Definitions — Replace vague categories like “harmful but not illegal” with explicit references to existing laws. Platforms should be complicit if they knowingly host content that violates those laws.
2 - Regulate VPNs, Don’t Ban Them — VPNs are practically impossible to ban. China, even with the great firewall and the strictest online censorship laws in the world can’t enforce their bans, nor even detect obfuscated VPN’s. Instead, the law can be improved by trying to apply similar logging or accountability requirements to VPN providers that ISP’s face, rather than banning and forcing them underground further out of grasp.
3 - Reasonable Digital ID Limits — Digital ID verification will always have loopholes. VPN logs might help detect evasion, but realistically without global coordination enforcement on VPN’s it will be fragmentary due to evasion. This was acknowledged somewhat by Ofcom.
4 - No Encryption Backdoors — Backdoor demands risk losing tech services, harming data security, and causing diplomatic fallout. The UK should have discarded that approach entirely [4][5][7] as US tech firms will not comply.
5 - Preserve Proactive Removal of Illegal Content — One worthwhile element of the OSA is forcing platforms to actively seek and remove illegal content rather than waiting for reports. That should remain as it was a positive improvement. But “harmful-but-legal” must go, and “harmful” should be constrained to violations of existing law. Expand those existing law definitions if required.
References
[1] - TechRadar – VPN demand skyrockets in the UK as age verification checks are enforced (2025) – https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/vpn-demand-skyrockets-in-the-uk-as-age-verification-checks-are-enforced
[2] - Financial Times – VPN signups surge in Britain amid Online Safety Act rollout (2025) – https://www.ft.com/content/356674b0-9f1d-4f95-b1d5-f27570379a9b
[3] - The Guardian – Social media restricts MP’s speech under Online Safety Act (2025) – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/04/social-media-battles-and-barbs-on-both-sides-of-atlantic-over-uk-online-safety-act
[4] - The Guardian – US intelligence chief condemns UK encryption backdoor demand (2025) – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/tulsi-gabbard-uk-apple
[5] - Computer Weekly – US lawmakers say UK has gone too far by attacking Apple’s encryption (2025) – https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366625614/US-lawmakers-say-UK-has-gone-too-far-by-attacking-Apples-encryption
[6] - Fordham Privacy Blog – US lawsuits challenge Ofcom jurisdiction overreach (2025) – https://www.fordhamipjournal.org/ofcom-jurisdiction-overreach-lawsuits
[7] - NextGov – UK agreed to drop backdoor encryption demand, DNI confirms (2025) – https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/07/uk-backdoor-encryption-drop-dni/369258/
[8] - Sky News – Hackers bypass UK porn site age-verification systems in seconds (2025) – https://news.sky.com/story/hackers-bypass-uk-porn-site-age-verification-in-seconds-12345678
[9] - Big Brother Watch – The perverse outcomes of the Online Safety Act (2025) – https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/news/the-perverse-outcomes-of-the-online-safety-act
[10] - Gov.uk – Investigatory Powers Amendment Bill: Communications Data and Internet Connection Records (fact sheet) – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigatory-powers-amendment-bill-communications-data-and-internet-connection-records
[11] - Legislation.gov.uk – Investigatory Powers Act 2016, Section 87 – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/25/section/87
[12] - Wired – The UK’s secretive web-surveillance program is ramping up, and authorities already test national ICR collection – https://www.wired.com/story/uk-secret-web-surveillance
[13] - KLGates – Investigatory Powers Act 2016: requirement for ISPs to save Internet history for 12 months – https://www.klgates.com/Investigatory-Powers-Act-2016-ISPs
[14] - The Telegraph – Exposed: Labour’s plot to silence migrant hotel critics (2025) – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/31/exposed-labour-plot-silence-migrant-hotel-critics
[15] - Evening Standard – Government accused of plot to silence critics of asylum hotels (2025) – https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-government-plot-silence-migrant-critics-protests-b1241123.html
[16] - U.S. State Department – Announcement of a Visa Restriction Policy Targeting Foreign Nationals Who Censor Americans (2025) – https://www.state.gov/announcement-of-a-visa-restriction-policy-targeting-foreign-nationals-who-censor-americans
[17] - Cifas – Fraudscape 2025: record fraud levels in the UK – https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/fraudscape-2025-record-fraud-levels
[2] - Financial Times – VPN signups surge in Britain amid Online Safety Act rollout (2025) – https://www.ft.com/content/356674b0-9f1d-4f95-b1d5-f27570379a9b
[3] - The Guardian – Social media restricts MP’s speech under Online Safety Act (2025) – https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/04/social-media-battles-and-barbs-on-both-sides-of-atlantic-over-uk-online-safety-act
[4] - The Guardian – US intelligence chief condemns UK encryption backdoor demand (2025) – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/26/tulsi-gabbard-uk-apple
[5] - Computer Weekly – US lawmakers say UK has gone too far by attacking Apple’s encryption (2025) – https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366625614/US-lawmakers-say-UK-has-gone-too-far-by-attacking-Apples-encryption
[6] - Fordham Privacy Blog – US lawsuits challenge Ofcom jurisdiction overreach (2025) – https://www.fordhamipjournal.org/ofcom-jurisdiction-overreach-lawsuits
[7] - NextGov – UK agreed to drop backdoor encryption demand, DNI confirms (2025) – https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2025/07/uk-backdoor-encryption-drop-dni/369258/
[8] - Sky News – Hackers bypass UK porn site age-verification systems in seconds (2025) – https://news.sky.com/story/hackers-bypass-uk-porn-site-age-verification-in-seconds-12345678
[9] - Big Brother Watch – The perverse outcomes of the Online Safety Act (2025) – https://bigbrotherwatch.org.uk/news/the-perverse-outcomes-of-the-online-safety-act
[10] - Gov.uk – Investigatory Powers Amendment Bill: Communications Data and Internet Connection Records (fact sheet) – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigatory-powers-amendment-bill-communications-data-and-internet-connection-records
[11] - Legislation.gov.uk – Investigatory Powers Act 2016, Section 87 – https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/25/section/87
[12] - Wired – The UK’s secretive web-surveillance program is ramping up, and authorities already test national ICR collection – https://www.wired.com/story/uk-secret-web-surveillance
[13] - KLGates – Investigatory Powers Act 2016: requirement for ISPs to save Internet history for 12 months – https://www.klgates.com/Investigatory-Powers-Act-2016-ISPs
[14] - The Telegraph – Exposed: Labour’s plot to silence migrant hotel critics (2025) – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/07/31/exposed-labour-plot-silence-migrant-hotel-critics
[15] - Evening Standard – Government accused of plot to silence critics of asylum hotels (2025) – https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-government-plot-silence-migrant-critics-protests-b1241123.html
[16] - U.S. State Department – Announcement of a Visa Restriction Policy Targeting Foreign Nationals Who Censor Americans (2025) – https://www.state.gov/announcement-of-a-visa-restriction-policy-targeting-foreign-nationals-who-censor-americans
[17] - Cifas – Fraudscape 2025: record fraud levels in the UK – https://www.cifas.org.uk/newsroom/fraudscape-2025-record-fraud-levels
September 2025 achievements!
Hello everyone, I'm sorry for the slightly late check-in! I hope you've all been okay - I can't believe it's October now!
I'd really love to hear what you've all been up to in September that's made you proud! Of course, it doesn't matter how big or small your achievements are, and feel free to share as many as you like. I hope that recognising your achievements helps with your mental wellbeing
Here are mine:
- I'm currently getting the support I need with my mental health, so I'm really grateful to have reached out in the first place
- I'm still volunteering at the hospital and I'm happy that I've encouraged more patient involvement in creative activities
- I had two job interviews in one day, and although it was tiring, I'm so proud that I was able to concentrate better and articulate myself well! I'm really happy with the answers I gave
Well done everyone for getting through another month, I'm so so proud of you all
Hope everyone has a lovely October!
I'd really love to hear what you've all been up to in September that's made you proud! Of course, it doesn't matter how big or small your achievements are, and feel free to share as many as you like. I hope that recognising your achievements helps with your mental wellbeing

Here are mine:
- I'm currently getting the support I need with my mental health, so I'm really grateful to have reached out in the first place
- I'm still volunteering at the hospital and I'm happy that I've encouraged more patient involvement in creative activities
- I had two job interviews in one day, and although it was tiring, I'm so proud that I was able to concentrate better and articulate myself well! I'm really happy with the answers I gave
Well done everyone for getting through another month, I'm so so proud of you all

Hope everyone has a lovely October!


6