I asked ChatGPT whether the claim “under the uk Online Safety Act, they literally want you see ID before you can access the settings on your home computer Nvidia GPU or Wikipedia” is true- (In the original claim that I wanted to verify, it was “computer Nvidia GPU. Or Wikipedia.” I put that together to make a whole sentence of it.) It answered that the claim as stated is not true “as far as what the law actually requires. But there are partial truths and concerning ambiguities which make it reasonable people are worrying.” Below, I quote the detail part of the answer. I did not verify anything of that answer.
What the UK Online Safety Act does say
Here are some important parts:
The Online Safety Act 2023 creates duties for online platforms (websites, social media, services that let users post content, etc.) to protect users — particularly children — from illegal content or harmful material. Wikipedia+2GOV.UK+2
Ofcom, the UK regulator, is empowered to designate certain services as “Category 1 services” (among others). These are large/risky platforms under the law’s framework. GOV.UK+2Wikimedia Foundation+2
If a platform is designated Category 1, it may have to put in place more stringent safety requirements. One of those could include verifying the identities of contributors or users in some contexts. For example, Wikipedia has contested that some duties may require that many volunteer editors be identity-verified. Wikimedia Foundation+2Ars Technica+2
The law also includes requirements for platforms to use “robust” age verification for content that is age-restricted (for example adult content) and to prevent children from accessing harmful material. PC Gamer+3GOV.UK+3
What seems to be fueling the confusion
Several sources of misinterpretation or exaggeration:
Category 1 worries — Because Category 1 services could end up with strong duties, including possibly identity verification of contributors/editors, people are concerned that sites like Wikipedia may be forced to require IDs. That concern is real. Wikipedia+3Wikimedia Foundation+3Ars Technica+3
Age verification for restricted content — Law requires platforms serving adult content or content harmful to minors to verify that users are over a given age. That sometimes involves photo ID, facial estimates, etc. But that’s for content access, not for hardware settings or personal tools. GOV.UK+2Tom’s Guide+2
Misinformation / mis-wording — Some social media posts have exaggerated (“you’ll need ID for everything”) or conflated “platform content moderation settings” with “hardware/software settings.” E.g. someone claimed that teens under 18 can’t access Nvidia’s GPU control panel unless identity-verified. I did not find credible source backing that particular example. X (formerly Twitter)+2
Conclusion: Is the claim true?
No: the law does not impose showing ID for configuring or accessing hardware/software settings on your personal home computer, such as Nvidia GPU control panel.
It might impose identity verification under certain conditions for online services, especially if they are designated “Category 1” and have user-generated content, or serve age-filtered content. But even then, the law is not yet fully implemented in many respects, and any identity-verification requirement would have to be legally justified and proportionate.
So the claim is false in the literal sense, but has a kernel of truth (concerning online services and identity verification duties) that can lead to confusion.
I asked ChatGPT whether the claim “under the uk Online Safety Act, they literally want you see ID before you can access the settings on your home computer Nvidia GPU or Wikipedia” is true- (In the original claim that I wanted to verify, it was “computer Nvidia GPU. Or Wikipedia.” I put that together to make a whole sentence of it.) It answered that the claim as stated is not true “as far as what the law actually requires. But there are partial truths and concerning ambiguities which make it reasonable people are worrying.” Below, I quote the detail part of the answer. I did not verify anything of that answer.
What the UK Online Safety Act does say
Here are some important parts:
The Online Safety Act 2023 creates duties for online platforms (websites, social media, services that let users post content, etc.) to protect users — particularly children — from illegal content or harmful material. Wikipedia+2GOV.UK+2
Ofcom, the UK regulator, is empowered to designate certain services as “Category 1 services” (among others). These are large/risky platforms under the law’s framework. GOV.UK+2Wikimedia Foundation+2
If a platform is designated Category 1, it may have to put in place more stringent safety requirements. One of those could include verifying the identities of contributors or users in some contexts. For example, Wikipedia has contested that some duties may require that many volunteer editors be identity-verified. Wikimedia Foundation+2Ars Technica+2
The law also includes requirements for platforms to use “robust” age verification for content that is age-restricted (for example adult content) and to prevent children from accessing harmful material. PC Gamer+3GOV.UK+3
What seems to be fueling the confusion
Several sources of misinterpretation or exaggeration:
Category 1 worries — Because Category 1 services could end up with strong duties, including possibly identity verification of contributors/editors, people are concerned that sites like Wikipedia may be forced to require IDs. That concern is real. Wikipedia+3Wikimedia Foundation+3Ars Technica+3
Age verification for restricted content — Law requires platforms serving adult content or content harmful to minors to verify that users are over a given age. That sometimes involves photo ID, facial estimates, etc. But that’s for content access, not for hardware settings or personal tools. GOV.UK+2Tom’s Guide+2
Misinformation / mis-wording — Some social media posts have exaggerated (“you’ll need ID for everything”) or conflated “platform content moderation settings” with “hardware/software settings.” E.g. someone claimed that teens under 18 can’t access Nvidia’s GPU control panel unless identity-verified. I did not find credible source backing that particular example. X (formerly Twitter)+2
Conclusion: Is the claim true?
No: the law does not impose showing ID for configuring or accessing hardware/software settings on your personal home computer, such as Nvidia GPU control panel.
It might impose identity verification under certain conditions for online services, especially if they are designated “Category 1” and have user-generated content, or serve age-filtered content. But even then, the law is not yet fully implemented in many respects, and any identity-verification requirement would have to be legally justified and proportionate.
So the claim is false in the literal sense, but has a kernel of truth (concerning online services and identity verification duties) that can lead to confusion.