US State Department Condemns UK’s Censorship Laws

Free expression in Britain is facing what the United States now calls a serious decline, with the US State Department’s latest Human Rights Report accusing the UK government of tightening its grip on speech, particularly since Keir Starmer’s administration came to power.

Among the most troubling developments, according to the report, is the enforcement of the new censorship law, the Online Safety Act. Presented to the public as a child protection measure, the legislation has drawn international criticism for creating broad powers to suppress lawful speech across digital platforms.

We obtained a copy of the report for you here.

The Southport murders became a turning point. Following the attack that left three young girls dead during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, the government was accused of using the tragedy to silence online commentary.

One of the most notable cases is that of Lucy Connolly, a former childcarer and wife of a Conservative councillor, who is serving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a post on X.

Her appeal was rejected in July, ensuring she remains behind bars until late August. Critics of the government’s speech policies have pointed to Connolly’s prosecution as proof of what they describe as selective enforcement and a political agenda disguised as justice.

The report suggests that these high-profile cases are no longer outliers. It claims censorship in Britain has become routine, targeting regular citizens and political speech.

The conviction of Adam Smith-Connor, a British army veteran, is another case the US flagged. He was fined £9,000 ($12,210) and handed a conditional discharge after silently praying near an abortion clinic in 2022.

His situation sparked interest in Washington, where Vice President JD Vance referenced the case during a speech in Munich.

In March, Smith-Connor joined four other pro-life advocates in a private meeting with US State Department officials. Those officials identified increasing restrictions on political and religious expression in the UK, especially speech that authorities classify as offensive or hateful.

The US report also criticized the approach taken by UK prosecutors in the aftermath of the Southport killings. Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson warned the public against reposting or repeating any messages considered false or inciting hatred. According to the report, officials involved in such efforts to stifle speech should have faced consequences. Instead, enforcement was described as selective and inconsistent.

The document further noted a pattern of police threatening individuals with arrest as a way to suppress speech. It also expressed concern over rising anti-Semitic incidents involving threats and violence within the UK.

The Online Safety Act remains at the heart of growing tensions. Under the law, tech companies can be fined up to 10 percent of their global revenue or £18 ($24) million if they fail to remove content deemed harmful. Although framed as a child protection initiative, it has been used to pressure social media platforms to take down content involving political debates, including discussions of grooming gangs in Parliament.

In the United States, the reach of this law has raised alarms, particularly among Trump officials who see it as a threat to American values and private companies.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during a briefing, “Societies are strengthened by free expression of opinion, and government censorship is intolerable in a free society.” She added that freedom of expression is fundamental to any functioning democracy.

The report itself was delayed for several months while Trump-appointed officials revised the initial draft to better reflect an aggressive stance against censorship abroad, and after more details of the UK’s free speech crisis were made known.

More fuel was added to the controversy when it emerged that a secretive Whitehall unit had been monitoring and flagging posts on social media it labeled as “concerning narratives.”

In stark language, the US State Department described “credible reports of serious restrictions on freedom of expression, including enforcement of or threat of criminal or civil laws in order to limit expression.” The report singles out a pattern of targeting political speech and online content, warning that suppression of dissent has become increasingly common.

British authorities, the report states, are using vague and expansive legal tools to punish speech that challenges official narratives or touches on politically sensitive topics. It notes that “censorship of ordinary Britons was increasingly routine, often targeted at political speech.”

The Online Safety Act, which came into force this year, features prominently in the report’s criticism. The legislation gives Ofcom, the UK’s archaic media regulator, sweeping powers to monitor and restrict digital speech.

“The law authorized UK authorities, including the Office of Communications (Ofcom), to monitor all forms of communication for speech they deemed ‘illegal.’”

“The Online Safety Act of 2023, which came into force in 2024, defined the category of ‘online harm’ and 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.”

“Under the law, companies were required to engage in proactive ‘illegal content risk assessment’ to mitigate the risk of users encountering speech deemed illegal by Ofcom.”

Digital rights experts cited in the report warned of the law’s potential to undermine user privacy and free speech online.

“Experts warned that one effect of the bill could be government regulation to reduce or eliminate effective encryption (and therefore user privacy) on platforms.”

The UK government’s response to last year’s Southport murders also came under scrutiny, particularly its clampdown on online commentary about the case. The report accuses officials of working to silence public discussion about the identity and background of the attacker.

“In the wake of an attack in Southport in which three young girls were stabbed to death, local and national government officials repeatedly intervened to chill speech as to the identity and motives of the attacker.”

Following the incident, British prosecutors threatened legal action against those sharing posts deemed unacceptable.

“Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson threatened to prosecute and seek the extradition of those who ‘repost, repeat, or amplify a message which is false, threatening, or stirs up racial/religious hatred.’”

The government also produced a warning video on social media, which the US report noted as part of its enforcement strategy:

“The Crown Prosecution Service shared a video online stating that citizens should ‘Think before you post!’ and threatening legal consequences for violations of the law.”

The US document revealed that arrests were made for online speech related to the Southport attack, although in some cases charges were later dropped.

Meanwhile, less high-profile cases also drew concern. One man was jailed for posting a meme linking knife crime to immigration. Another was prosecuted for silently praying within a restricted zone outside an abortion facility.

“In July, a man was jailed and handed an eight-week sentence for posting a meme suggesting a link between migrants and knife crime.”

“In October, an individual was convicted in England for engaging in silent prayer in violation of a ‘safe zone.’”

While British authorities have defended their policies as necessary to maintain public order and safety, the US State Department’s report paints a picture of a country drifting toward institutionalized censorship, with speech increasingly policed by law and algorithm alike.

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