How Americans Are Fighting a British Censorship Invasion |
Free Speech
Meagan O'Rourke | 1.30.2026 2:21 PM
The Online Safety Act has crippled free speech in the United Kingdom. Most Americans may assume they're safe from censorship on this side of the Atlantic, but the U.K. is now attempting to enforce the Online Safety Act on U.S. companies.
The Online Safety Act grants the U.K.'s online regulator, Ofcom, sweeping authority to restrict and censor online content under the guise of protecting children. The results have been disastrous. In compliance with these rules, social media companies in the U.K. have set age restrictions on a wide range of content: Reddit pages discussing Ukraine and Gaza, a parliamentary speech about the rape of a minor, and even an image of the famous Francisco Goya painting Saturn Devouring His Son.
American social media users have yet to encounter Ofcom's censorship on their timelines, but U.K. regulators have quietly been pressuring U.S. companies to comply with their orders, sparking outrage among a small but tenacious coalition of American legislators and free speech lawyers.
Tech policy lawyer Preston Byrne has been exchanging volleys with the Brits for months. He represents four U.S. websites targeted by Ofcom: 4chan, Gab.com, Kiwi Farms, and Personal Autonomy........