Imran Ahmed, who runs the deplatforming organisation known as the ‘Centre for Countering Digital Hate,’ has been officially sanctioned by the US government. Ahmed is an ex-Labour staffer and good friend of No10 Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney…
CCDH has spent its time working closely on a personnel basis with campaigns like Labour Together and targets the funding models of those online with whom it disagrees politically – namely advertising. In January Ahmed was calling for an official “database” of all online advertising in order to track who was ‘funding’ what. It was also revealed to have developed a a “5-year plan” to “kill Musk’s Twitter”…
US Undersecretary of State Sarah B Rogers sanctioned Ahmed overnight on the grounds he is a “key collaborator with the Biden Administration’s effort to weaponize the government against US citizens.” Ahmed is currently living in DC on a visa that is now set to be revoked…
The US also sanctioned Brit Clare Melford, who runs the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI) which has focussed for years on defunding right of centre causes. Also sanctioned is former EU digital regulator-in-chief Thierry Breton. Huge gulf opening up between the US and Europe on free speech issues…
News that Rachel Reeves was pleading with Britain’s big watchdogs to “tear down regulatory barriers” clearly hadn’t trickled down to key Labour outriders last week. Guido was following the select committee appearance of the Musk-hating ‘Centre for Countering Digital Hate’…
Led by Imran Ahmed (himself a perfectly amiable chap)– ex-Labour staffer and good mate of No10 Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney– the session saw an outburst of appeals to the DSIT select committee to ramp up red tape on advertising. The CCDH called for an industry-wide “database” for all online advertisements: “if there was an open database of what content was monetised by whom we would have more clarity and we would have more accountability moments”. How many millions in revenue and time and effort would be wasted filling that spreadsheet out…
The online advertising industry is now worth £35bn to the UK each year. And already has as its regulator one of the more effective watchdogs in the UK at present, the Advertising Standards Authority…
Last year the CCDH were revealed to have a “5-year plan” to “kill Musk’s Twitter”. That UK DOGE cannot come quickly enough…
Lord Khan in the Telegraph: “I hope, and I say this in a non-pompous way, that the public service I do will bring rewards in this world and the hereafter,” he says. “I’m hoping the work I do is earning me Brownie points.”