Online Safety Act draws fire for stifling free expression.
Children are suffering psychological harm from unfiltered social media platforms that expose them to disturbing adult content as well as online predators. The United Kingdom’s initiatives to police the internet to protect children have attracted opposition by those claiming the Online Safety Act (OSA) is a Trojan horse being abused to regulate free speech. Finding the balance is proving to be an ongoing challenge.
Protecting Children Online
The explosion of social media platforms in recent decades has created unprecedented threats to children from unfiltered exposure to pornography, internet predation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and other negative influences. Strident public calls for increased policing of online content have been amplified by tragic cases of trauma and loss. In the UK, support for the Online Safety Act has been fueled by organizations such as the Molly Rose Foundation.
The Molly Rose Foundation is named after 14-year-old Molly Russell, who committed suicide following a battle with depression aggravated by online content. Her father, Ian Russell, has been a prominent advocate for imposing stricter safeguards on internet platforms, including the world’s largest social media sites. Following a recent report commissioned by the foundation, Russell has raised alarms that the UK authorities are still falling far short, stating:
“The situation has got worse rather than better, despite the actions of governments and regulators and people like me. The report shows that if you strayed into the rabbit hole of harmful suicide self-injury content, it’s almost inescapable.”
Social media platforms strenuously disagree with such claims, but there is no dispute that young people are particularly vulnerable to internet predation, including algorithms, revenge porn, grooming, bullying, and stalking. Yet these are very different from criticizing others for their behaviors, voicing disagreement with immigration or medical policies, or expressing so-called “hate” speech. This is where the intersection of child protection versus political suppression has seeded fierce contention.
Free Speech Crimes?
The Online Safety Act is enforced by UK communications regulator Ofcom, which requires most online social media companies, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and search engines to police any banned content and enforce age restrictions. Previously, children could simply click a button answering yes to the question “Are you 18?” Now age confirmation is required through one of three methods: age estimation (using facial analysis or confirming email links to household utility bills), information verification (using bank, mobile phone, or computer data), or document verification (official IDs such as a passport or driver’s license). Hefty fines and even criminal sanctions are available to enforce these safeguards against internet businesses.
So far, so good. However, critics claim the law goes too far, harming free speech and privacy rights. Platforms must shield children from “hateful content” and hate speech – vague terms that invite government censorship and create uncertainty for public users. High-profile arrests of Brits for social media comments deemed hateful or misinformative have made international headlines, prompting opposition to the new law on free speech grounds. British citizens have been charged or convicted of sending “threatening communications,” “illegal fake news,” and “false communications.” One man’s hate crime is another’s freedom of opinion: Risks of government abuse abound.
Because the law affects US companies, Elon Musk, President Donald Trump, and other prominent American voices have expressed justifiable concerns. The US State Department’s annual assessment of countries’ human rights records recently criticized the UK government for chilling free speech in controversial political instances and for crossing international regulatory boundaries in its censorship because the OSA “expressly expanded Ofcom’s authority to include American media and technology firms with a substantial number of British users, regardless of whether they had a corporate presence in the UK.” Vice President JD Vance criticized the rules as presenting a “dark path” of excessive government regulation, and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) claimed the law threatens US First Amendment protections for American citizens and companies and has “a serious chilling effect on free expression.”
British Political Vitriol
The tension has fueled bitter political rancor not only between the UK and US but within British political battlegrounds. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party (currently leading in UK polls against both Labour and Conservative parties), vowed to repeal the OSA, claiming, “It begins to look as though state suppression of genuine free speech may be upon us already.” Reform party figure Zia Yusuf leveled the charge that it “does absolutely nothing to protect children; what it does is suppress freedom of speech in this country and really force social media companies to censor anti-government speech.”
In retort, UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner rebuked the Reform leadership, claiming its position would put British women at risk, and UK technology secretary Peter Kyle averred the Reform stance would benefit people like Jimmy Savile (a notorious UK child predator, now deceased) to exploit children and that anyone against the act, like Farage, was “on their side.”
Internet platforms require safety for children and freedom for grown-ups. Both sides in the unfolding legal/political ruckus express legitimate concerns. Narrowing the definition of hate speech might assuage free speech advocates while permitting continued efforts to protect children. Time will tell whether the UK government can regulate the internet without extinguishing free speech protections.
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