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White House warns Starmer: Stop threatening US tech companies’ free speech
The Telegraph ^ | Wed, July 30, 2025 | Connor Stringer

Posted on 07/30/2025 9:55:12 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican

The White House has warned Sir Keir Starmer to stop threatening American tech companies amid mounting backlash over Britain’s online safety law.

Members of Donald Trump’s administration are monitoring the Online Safety Act with “great interest and concern” after key allies said it was censoring free speech and imposing unfair burdens on US businesses.

The law, which regulates online speech, allows the British government to levy massive fines on companies like Apple, Truth Social, and X if it finds that rules on hate speech have been broken.

Those in the president’s inner circle see the potential penalties as an unwarranted foreign intervention into American free speech.

“President Trump has made it clear that free speech is one of our most cherished freedoms as Americans,” a senior US State Department official told The Telegraph.

“Accordingly, we have taken decisive action against foreign actors who have engaged in extraterritorial censorship affecting our companies and fellow citizens.

“We will continue to monitor developments in the UK with great interest and concern.”

Since the law came into effect last week, Ofcom, the UK’s online regulator, has written to several American firms ordering them to conform to the act, in letters seen by The Telegraph.

It has sparked outrage from US lawmakers and legal experts, who say the overreach is a threat by the UK to silence American companies and citizens.

Congressman Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary GOP committee, said the law was an attack on American companies.

“Ask Apple and they would view it as a $500 million attack,” he told The Telegraph.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: European Union; France; Germany; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: censorship; europeanunion; eurotwits; france; freespeech; germany; internet; keirstarmer; socialmedia; twotierkeir; tyranny; unitedkingdom; uropeanunion

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1 posted on 07/30/2025 9:55:12 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
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To: MinorityRepublican

Silly Brit ponces.


2 posted on 07/30/2025 10:04:15 PM PDT by glorgau
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To: glorgau

Ponces, Wankers, and Wogs.

Might be the name of a law firm there?


3 posted on 07/30/2025 10:09:31 PM PDT by Ex gun maker. (Free thinking is now a radical concept, I will not be assimilated by PC or EV group-think!)
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To: MinorityRepublican
The British Speech Tariff

4 posted on 07/30/2025 10:09:31 PM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: MinorityRepublican

The problem with government protecting people from ideas and hurt feelings:

Someone gets to decide what “version of the truth” gets promoted, and which suppressed.

Of course those in power will always claim that anyone disagreeing with them is the wrong version, that goes without saying.

Here is a novel idea! How about we just accept the fact that you can’t trust anyone to control speech and thought and simply need to protect it.

This is a radical idea, I know, but follow me for a second. How about we codify in our constitution the idea of “free speech.” We make it an unalienable right, meaning it is protected even from people’s all important and fragile feelings, a thought police that thinks they get to decide what the truth is...

It is important even for the functioning of a democratic process that you have speech protected!

So imagine we actually have it spelled out in the very foundation of what defines our entire government and how it operates, the origin of every law a nation creates! That would be cool, huh?

Oh, wait...


5 posted on 07/30/2025 10:11:13 PM PDT by Red6
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To: linMcHlp

That would be funny.

A speech tariff.


6 posted on 07/30/2025 10:11:48 PM PDT by Red6
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To: MinorityRepublican

Didn’t we already settle this once, like back in 1776?


7 posted on 07/30/2025 10:34:24 PM PDT by Jim Robinson (Resistance to tyranny is obedience to God.)
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To: MinorityRepublican
,,, the UK is fast turning into Starmer's communist fantasy. Whatever you do, if you're there don't ask for black coffee. It's "coffee without milk."
8 posted on 07/30/2025 10:35:35 PM PDT by shaggy eel (A long way south of the border.)
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To: glorgau

They’re worse than that. Over on You Tube they’re begging, pleading and one ‘’journalist’’ just flat out said “Invade us, PLEASE and sort this lot out!’’.

President Trump was excoriated in the UK in 2016 and 2020, especially in Scotland.

Now they’re veritably demanding we rescue them again.

Two generations of my family survived 1918 and 1944 for twits and they’re still begging.


9 posted on 07/30/2025 10:45:45 PM PDT by jmacusa ( Liberals. Too stupid to be idiots.)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Australia is going the same way. with these bans, everyone will have to be ID’d when going on certain websites.

30 July: Yahoo: Australia expands teen social media ban to YouTube, drops exemption
Reuters Videos
Last year, a decision was made to exempt YouTube from the social media ban, due to its popularity with teachers.
Since then, other banned platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok have complained...

The law passed in November 2024 requires social media platforms to take ‘reasonable steps’ to block under-16s or face fines of up to about $32 million...
https://www.yahoo.com/news/videos/australia-expands-teen-social-media-074421292.html

Inman Grant - mentioned in the following - is an American who used to work for Twitter. sadly, both major political parties are going along with all this censorship, and Murdoch’s NewsCorp is pushing it too. FakeMSM is failing rapidly, and it’s as if they are trying to knock out their competition:

31 July: MSN: Elon Musk’s X Corp loses Aussie legal fight
by Liam Beatty
The US-based social media giant was handed a transparency notice by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant seeking information about the measures the company was taking to address the proliferation of child sexual exploitation material on its platform...ETC
https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/news/elon-musk-s-x-corp-loses-aussie-legal-fight/ar-AA1JBVB7?ocid=BingNewsVerp


10 posted on 07/30/2025 10:51:30 PM PDT by MAGAthon ( )
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To: MinorityRepublican
The law, which regulates online speech, allows the British government to levy massive fines on companies like Apple, Truth Social, and X if it finds that rules on hate speech have been broken.

Which is completely backwards.

Fine the perps if anyone, not the companies whose platforms are misused. They cannot help what others post.

Considering the Islamification of Britain and how they're going after people who make negative posts against *migrants*, what else does anyone expect?

And this is simply a money grab and a very poor excuse for it.

11 posted on 07/31/2025 12:41:25 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus….)
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To: MAGAthon

Maybe like china they should start their own social media platforms and the rest can pull out.


12 posted on 07/31/2025 12:43:53 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus….)
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To: Jim Robinson
[Sir Keir Starmer to stop threatening American tech companies amid mounting backlash over Britain’s online safety law.]

Hope the White House didn't do anything REALLY bad - like sending a meme to the British.....

[Elon Musk: UK is ‘Tyrannical Police State’]

The stories coming out of the U.K. are downright freaky and reminiscent of '1984'








13 posted on 07/31/2025 2:06:56 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: Red Badger; null and void; metmom; 444Flyer; Jane Long

Hold on a moment....there are guys with British accents knocking at my door.....


14 posted on 07/31/2025 2:08:34 AM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: MinorityRepublican

Tech needs to shut them off and shut them down for a week and see how they like not having any of it at all. You can bet their own commercial sector will be up in arms over their lost revenue because their ads are not being put out here anymore. It would put a stop to this whole problem immediately. It would destroy their economy if they don’t back off.

Would tech make this joint sacrifice towards a better end? No... Because they are just too greedy to lose even one dollar even if it means permanently curing this whole issue for all of them across the board.


15 posted on 07/31/2025 2:31:43 AM PDT by Openurmind (AI - An Illusion for Aptitude Intrusion to Alter Intellect. )
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To: MinorityRepublican

I suppose Britain has a right to enforce such laws in their own territory if they so choose, no matter how ridiculous they are. On the other hand, Starmer’s government has already ceded Britain’s sovereignty to so many other entities (illegals, the Macron government, etc.) that I don’t have a problem with Trump bitch slapping Starmer over this.


16 posted on 07/31/2025 2:51:27 AM PDT by mbrfl
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To: MinorityRepublican
Update. She's being released early, next month...

Tory councillor's wife jailed for migrant hotel tweet will be freed in weeks

In August.

Before Pres. Trump's statement visit in September.

Coinkydink...?

17 posted on 07/31/2025 2:56:45 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: Openurmind

“Tech needs to shut them off and shut them down for a week and see how they like not having any of it at all.”

That might be the best idea. Cut ‘em off.

I wish Elon hadn’t broken ties with the White House ‘cause he could very effective in this situation.


18 posted on 07/31/2025 3:02:28 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam (It's hard not to celebrate the fall of bad people. - Bongino)
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To: mewzilla

I’d love to go back to the UK, but I worry that my tendency to open my mouth would get me in trouble.

Last time I was there, my friend scolded me for wanting to take a picture of a group of children singing Christmas carols - “They’re not your children and someone could complain and get you in big trouble.” Same as for my big mouth spouting off about immigration.

This was five years ago, things have a lot gotten worse since.


19 posted on 07/31/2025 3:05:34 AM PDT by Not_Who_U_Think
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To: Not_Who_U_Think

We visited the UK in the 80s and 90s.

Hubby was back in the 2010s.

The changes in the last forty years have not been for the better.

We have no desire to go back.


20 posted on 07/31/2025 3:10:17 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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