A new UK internet safety law could require Wikipedia to collect the real names and identities of its volunteer editors — a change that threatens the very way the free online encyclopedia works.

The Wikimedia Foundation just lost its court challenge to block these rules, which are part of Britain's Online Safety Act. While Wikipedia appears alongside social media giants as one of the internet's most-visited sites, it operates very differently: All its content is created by unpaid volunteers who often need to remain anonymous for their safety. A professor editing articles about Chinese politics, for example, or a scientist correcting COVID-19 misinformation could face real-world threats if their identities were exposed.

The court acknowledged this dilemma, recognizing Wikipedia's "signific

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