The legislation only applies to big scary sites you hear about with massive audiences that have the potential for narrative shaping. There are exemptions for smaller sites. Probably because they understand that what they’re trying to do is only possible if all parties decide “yeah this is a good idea and we can make money” or “oh fuck they’ve heard of my website, I don’t want to get fined.”

This is just another step in an assault on “new media” / social media that is being carried out across all five-eyes nations. I feel schizophrenic when I try to explain the extent of what is happening, but Arab Spring was a wake-up call, Trump was a klaxon, Covid rattled them too because it showed just how little power governments and their lackeys have now to narrative shape and maintain social cohesion.

The security state apparatus in some participating nations started embedding themselves in the decision making structures of major platforms, other weaker countries have had to resort to passing speech restriction laws and taking eg. google to court. When that fails, they “Great Firewall of <Nation>” the problem like USA’s constant threat to ban Tiktok and Australia’s failed attempts to end piracy and ban 4chan.

There’s a quiet little multi-front war going on against for control of the internet right now.