Every time Georgia’s Democrat Rep. Hank Johnson opens his mouth, it reminds me of the time he questioned an Admiral about whether Guam would tip over and capsize. The video of it is a cult classic by now. What makes it so good is the Admiral’s patience with this fool. Hank has since been educated about islands. However, when he was questioning Nigel Farage this week, I was waiting for him to screw up and he did not let me down. Hank tries to make Nigel out to be a fringe politician in the U.K., but only succeeds in bringing out Nigel’s charm and humor. It was Nigel at his best.
However, there was a serious reason for Nigel testifying in front of a Congressional committee this week. He was here to sound the alarm about the U.K.’s Online Safety Act and the consequences it has for U.S. companies and citizens. With the onerous censorship regime of the Biden administration behind us now, we tend to forget that censorship is still going strong in the EU and U.K. The U.K.’s Online Safety Act is one manifestation of it.
The current Labor government in the U.K. is not content just to impose its speech standards upon its own citizens but wants to impose its will on the citizens of other nations. Recently, an Irish comedic writer was detained and questioned at Heathrow airport by police authorities for tweets that he wrote, but the real impact of the Online Safety Act will be felt when U.S. companies attempt to comply with its regulations.
The CEOs of tech companies are not known for taking principled stances against censorship, Elon Musk excluded. Their tendency is to comply with government regulations when it affects the bottom line. Bad actors who harbor Orwellian ambitions count on such actions. That is why Nigel Farage is appealing to the American public to stiffen our nation’s resolve to fight Big Tech’s collusion with the U.K. censorship regime.
On the bright side, Nigel’s Reform party may acquire a ruling majority in Parliament in the next election, if the polls are right. If he does prevail, we can expect some major changes in U.K. policy. Envision Trump’s second term, with a British accent.
Image from Grok.