(NewsNation) — President Trump on Thursday offered the equivalent of a thumbs-down emoji when asked about a controversial British law that has resulted in a crackdown on social-media posts deemed to be incitements to violence.
Great Britain’s new Online Safety Act, among other things, can result in prison sentences for people accused of trying to harm others through comments on social media platforms. The measure has drawn wide scrutiny this week after Irish comedian Graham Linehan was arrested at Heathrow Airport for social media posts he made in April about transgender people. Critics claim dozens of people are arrested daily.
Trump, at a White House dinner with U.S. tech titans, called the measure “sad” and “not a good thing.”
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“Strange things are happening over there. They are cracking down, and surprisingly so, and I’ve spoken to the prime minister, and let’s see what happens,” said the president, whose Republican Party has taken a dim view about censorship that curbs conservative views here and abroad.
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Even British Prime Minister Keir Starmer seemed to back away from the strictest enforcement of the law, saying police should focus on the most serious threats. And London’s top police official suggested lawmakers give authorities clearer direction.
Fortunately, British-American Steve Hilton says, the United States has a First Amendment that generally insulates citizens for speaking their minds, however unpopular their opinions may be.
“In the U.K., there’s nothing like that,” Hilton, a Republican candidate for California governor, told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Thursday. “And so what you’ve seen is a real erosion over the past few years.”
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“We’ve got this one high-profile case,” he added. “But underneath that, you’ve got a regular drumbeat of people being arrested for what they say.”
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In a series of posts on X, Linehan said trans women were violent criminals if they used women-only facilities, and he advocated physically assaulting them if calling police and other measures failed to stop them.
Nigel Farage, leader of the conservative Reform UK party, told U.S. lawmakers earlier this week that Americans could face arrest in his country if police there judged their online posts as potentially dangerous.
