Elon Musk’s X has attacked the UK government for threatening free speech and encouraging censorship with the implementation of the Online Safety Act. In a statement released this afternoon, the social media giant said:
“To date, regulators have taken a heavy-handed approach by rapidly increasing enforcement resources, adding layers of bureaucratic oversight and signaling an aggressive approach to ensuring compliance. Instead of specifically and collaboratively addressing a problem everyone agrees needs to be solved, many are now concerned that a plan ostensibly intended to keep children safe is at risk of seriously infringing on the public’s right to free expression.
This risk is not a surprise to the UK government. When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of “online safety.” It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made.”
The company goes on to say that “without a more balanced, collaborative approach, free speech will suffer“, and the government’s timetable for meeting mandatory implementation measures “has been unnecessarily tight“. Just yesterday, the Act caused a benign, parodic image of Keir Starmer’s head on a baby’s body to be blocked entirely from X…
Read the full statement below:
Continue reading “Musk’s X Blasts UK Government Over Online Safety Act Censorship”
It was only a matter of time. The new Online Safety Act has blocked some humorous Labour content…
Co-conspirators can scroll down a few Guido stories and see a fetching image of Keir Starmer’s face on a baby with the strapline: “KEIR SUFFERS EXTINCTION EVENT.” A simple enough play on there being no new babies called Keir last year…
Unfortunately the post has been twice hidden from X with the now-dreaded message:
This is known as ‘overcompliance’ with onerous legislation. Guido recommends everyone in the UK downloads a VPN…
The government’s own National Cyber Security Centre recommends that private individuals use a Virtual Private Network to keep their data secure. What will Labour do now…
The latest guidance for small business owners says:
“When you use public Wi-Fi hotspots (for example in hotels or coffee shops), there is no way to easily find out who controls the hotspot, or to prove that it belongs to who you think it does. If you connect to these hotspots, somebody else could access:
- what you’re working on whilst connected
- your private login details that many apps and web services maintain whilst you’re logged on
The simplest precaution is not to connect to the Internet using unknown hotspots, and instead use your mobile 3G or 4G mobile network, which will have built-in security. This means you can also use ‘tethering’ (where your other devices such as laptops share your 3G/4G connection), or a wireless ‘dongle’ provided by your mobile network. You can also use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), a technique that encrypts your data before it is sent across the Internet. If you’re using third party VPNs, you’ll need the technical ability to configure it yourself, and should only use VPNs provided by reputable service providers.”
Hacks have lapped up Peter Kyle’s line that he is currently “not in the business” of restricting VPN use. As Guido revealed yesterday Labour officially supported a forcing a review on rules for VPNs when the Online Safety Act was first debated…
Kyle is currently begging adults to verify their age whenever they are asked, which is unsustainable. All it will take is for a few civil service reviews to support restricting VPNs somehow – e.g. by forcing them off established app stores. A futile effort and one which makes the internet more dangerous – much like the Online Safety Act…
Labour should take their advice from the National Cyber Security Centre on VPNs. Farcical…
Science Secretary Peter Kyle has said Nigel Farage is ‘on the side of Jimmy Saville’ this morning while defending the Online Safety Act. Even host Wilfred Frost was incredulous…
On Sky News Kyle gave an extended rant in favour of the law, which has so far led to a massive surge in VPN use and banned footage of protests from X, claiming he has not yet seen one single misapplication of the legislation so far. He launched unprompted into an attack on the Reform leader, saying:
“If Jimmy Savile were alive today he’d be perpetrating his crimes online, and Nigel Farage is saying he’s on their side.”
Kyle said Farage was siding with “extreme pornographers peddling hate, peddling violence.” Frost replied: “Do you honestly think to say Nigel Farage is on Jimmy Savile’s side… this is a major leap.” Kyle responded that he was protecting children by telling people to age verify online and Farage wants to “turn the clock back.” This will cause huge fireworks today…
UPDATE: Farage says Kyle should “do the right thing and apologise” for his “disgusting” comments.
UPDATE II: Peter Kyle doubles down in response: “If you want to overturn the Online Safety Act you are on the side of predators. It is as simple as that.“
Labour could ban the use of Virtual Private Networks after their use has skyrocketed to avoid the restrictions imposed by the Online Safety Act. Logical next step for the authoritarians…
A VPN reroutes a device’s internet traffic through another country. Swiss Proton VPN became the UK’s top free app on Apple’s app store over the weekend with downloads up 1,800%. Nord VPN reported a 1,000% spike in purchases from the UK. Half of the top ten free apps on the store are VPNs now. Well done lads…
Labour has previously supported moves to restrict VPN usage when the Online Safety Act was first going through parliament. Prominent backbench MP Sarah Champion launched a campaign against them:
“My new clause 54 would require the Secretary of State to publish, within six months of the Bill’s passage, a report on the effect of VPN use on Ofcom’s ability to enforce the requirements under clause 112. If VPNs cause significant issues, the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems.”
Champion was supported by the Labour frontbench – the party said there were “gaps” in the bill that needed to be amended. Shadow digital minister Alex Davies-Jones said at the time that the clause “touches on the issue of future-proofing, which Labour has raised repeatedly in debates on the Bill.” VPNs currently destroy the operation of the badly-designed legislation…
Under the terms of the act platforms are not allowed to promote VPNs as an alternative to ID checks. Labour will be minded to go much further. If China can’t do it…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
