I previously wrote about Hillary Clinton’s call on European countries to pass censorship laws to force social media companies like Twitter to regulate speech even after Elon Musk’s pledge to restore free speech to Twitter. Now the Parliament has called on Musk to testify and to explain his alarming pledge to restore free speech.
The Biden Administration’s Disinformation Governance Board head, Nina Jankowisz, previously called upon Great Britain to impose state censorship rules. That call has grown since Musk’s purchase. Until now, a unified front of corporate censors was able to maintain an extensive system of censorship with the encouragement of politicians and pundits, including Joe Biden and Democratic members .
The head of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the House of Commons, Conservative MP Julian Knight has assured her countrymen that they can stay calm and censor on. She issued a letter for Musk to appear before the committee to answer for his terrifying suggestion of free speech:
“At a time when social media companies face the prospect of tighter regulations around the world, we’re keen to learn more about how Mr Musk will balance his clear commitment to free speech with new obligations to protect Twitter’s users from online harms.”
Like the EU’s censorship plans under the Digital Services Act, the proposed Online Safety Bill would introduce state censorship through the purview of Ofcom (The Office of Communications), the broadcasting regulator in Britain. It would allow the company to fine firms up to ten percent of their global revenue should they violate ill-defined “harm” standards.
If passed, Clinton and others hope that the Europeans can replace corporate censorship with good old-fashioned state censorship. This includes confiscatory fines for anything deemed “grossly offensive.“ The bill would allow countries like Great Britain to impose censorship on the rest of the world.
The decline of free speech in the United Kingdom has long been a concern for free speech advocates (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Once you start as a government to criminalize speech, you end up on a slippery slope of censorship. What constitutes hate speech or “malicious communications” remains a highly subjective matter and we have seen a steady expansion of prohibited terms and words and gestures. Even having “toxic ideologies” is now a crime.
Great Britain would now make censorship one of its greatest exports. To do so, they first have to stomp out advocates for free speech like Musk by threatening to bankrupt his company if it tries to restore free speech to the Internet.
London has fallen.
SIMPLY CANCEL YOUR SERVICE IN UK AND LET OTHERS FOLLOW
THEN LET THEM EXPLAIN TO USERS WHAT HAPPENED
THERE ARE WAY MORE LIVE AND LET LIVE FREE SPEECHERS THAN
WHINY SNOWFLAKES LOOKING TO BE INSULTED BY NOTHING
PSUCKY PSAKI is a lying liar who lies. She does not deserve respect in that briefing room. She should be faced with reporters SHOUTING QUESTIONS AT HER NONSTOP. NONSTOP SHOUTING AT HER is what she deserves.
PSTOP LYING PSUCKY PSAKI.
I agree : Psaky Psucky Cocky
Like I said, I didn’t have to wait long for threats against the Supreme Court justices. Again, who the hell do these people think they are.
Exactly. Reporters need to be shouting questions AT Psucky Psaki nonstop until she capitulates and says the right thing: the WH condemns the doxxing of SC juctices that puts them and their families in harms way…..the fact that Psaki and the Biden WH refuse to condemn these actions is absolutely atrocious and UNACCEPTABLE TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE RECKLESS INTENT TO ALLOW HARM TO COME TO THIER POLITICAL ENEMIES.
JOE BIDEN IS AN UTTER DISGRACE.
So is his press secretary. She PSUCKS.
White House declines to condemn doxing of Supreme Court justices.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/05/biden-white-house-refuses-condemn-left-wing-group-doxxed-home-address-conservative-supreme-court-justices-video
Is it wrong to suspect that the White House may be behind it?
Anything seems possible with the clowns running this administration, whoever they may be.
Is JT contributing to the age of rage and overreaction?— after all what is wrong with the actual words of the invitation and who knows both sides and the public at large may benefit from the exchange of ideas.
“[W]hat is wrong with the actual words of the invitation . . .”
An “invitation” from government censors — with the P.S.: “We have our methods of ‘persuasion’.”
Context matters.
Like millions of Americans, Epstein left work, saw the market was down 5%, and then paid $80 for a tank of gas on the way home. Life would be so much better if the Democrats would go back to just calling us racists.
Theoretically, what’s wrong with being racist? It’s simply opinion if not insidiously conflated with violence. The American Founders are considered by some to have been racist, although their focus may have been more on profit. The Israelite slaves were out of Egypt before the ink was dry on their release papers. They weren’t inclined to stick around and hang out with their former masters. They were thinkers, eh?
The EU has wanted their own Facebook and Twitter for years and this is a way to ban those two and others. I am sure there are obedient Europeans with similar sites for them to control.
What they are saying is if a banned speech is not censored then it will cost the company 10% of global revenue which is profit. They will have no choice but to pull out of Europe.
IT took the EU 30 years to admit that the CE safety regulation meant to ban American products.
Please note that it’s the Left pushing censorship in Western civilization.
Democrats try to claim it’s on both sides, but what examples do they have? Trump calling erroneous news stories “fake news”, but not censoring them. Parents demanding age inappropriate and sexual books be removed from elementary school libraries. Age restrictions on children is their gotcha moment when the conversation is about adults having the right of free speech. Parents have the right to decide what materials their child will be exposed to, whether it’s an R rated movie on TV, a book with sex scenes, or propaganda that gender is a state of mind. Note that Democrats dispute parental rights, as well. It’s all about empowering the state over adults, and children. History indicates this ends badly.
gender *IS* a state of mind, though. gender is the role you play in society. sex is the actual biology you have between your legs. Sex and Gender are 2 entirely different concepts.
Anonymous:
I am looking at my hard copy, Merriam Webster Dictionary, 2016.
Gender:
-1. any of two or more divisions within a grammatical class that determine agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms.
-2. SEX
Sex:
1. either of the two major forms that occur in many living things and are designated male or female, according to their roll in reproduction, also, the qualities by which these sexes are differentiated and which directly or indirectly function in reproduction involving the parents
2. sexual activity or behavior
We need to address the Left’s reliance on amnesia. The Left declares new definitions for words, and then pretends the centuries’ old definitions never existed, and you’re a bigot if you remember them. Like thug.
Thug. Hindi & Urdu. A brutal ruffian or assassin.
The Left simply proclaimed that “thug” was a racist term against black people, instead of the real meaning of the word, which is a violent criminal. They proclaimed it so, and called everyone who used the word a bigot.
Most of my life, we were taught that gender and sex are interchangeable when filling out forms. The Left declared that gender was a state of mind, and simply changed the definition. The online Miriam Webster dictionary now lists the definition for gender as “the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.” Once the Left took control of academia, public education, Google, FB, etc, it curated the information available to the American public, carefully crafting propaganda and censoring dissent.
So, now you know, if you didn’t before. Gender was always defined as a synonym for sex. It meant male or female. This whole idea that gender is a state of mind is relatively new, relies on millions of people forgetting what “gender” has meant for centuries. Conform, comply, or be punished.
Many reasonable people disagree.
If you are interested in learning what other words Democrats simply redefined, then go to used bookstores and look at dictionaries.
Marxist class warfare doesn’t get much traction in America, the land of the self-made millionaire, with prominent wealthy minorities, especially black athletes and music artists. They had to turn to other means of pitting people against each other. Capitalist, anti-capitalist, black vs white, transgender, gay…It’s all about trivializing people, making them believe they are oppressed, and that they need a Democrat savior to come in and provide better living through big government. Promising to be a savior while keeping people down is a lucrative profession in politics.
Karen says:
“Trump calling erroneous news stories “fake news”, but not censoring them.”
Why do you think Turley has NEVER adopted the Trumpist phrase, “fake news”? There must be a good reason. Or for that matter, “witch-hunt”?
You say:
“It’s all about empowering the state over adults, and children. History indicates this ends badly.”
Did you learn this history at PragerU? Otherwise, please cite a scholarly book which supports this thesis.
Jeff:
Professor Turley regularly comments on erroneous news stories and biased journalism. He gets to choose his own adjectives.
If you don’t understand the historical pitfalls of an all powerful state at the expense of individual rights, I suggest you read about the Holocaust, Holodomor, Pol Pot, the lack of free speech in modern Russia, North Korea…I mean, take your pick. Open a text book.
Karen:
I agree that Turley rightly criticizes biased journalism in the MSM, but I trust you will concede that he has NEVER criticized the biased journalism at his own Fox News, Newsmax, OAN, etc. Of course, he gets to decide not to use “fake news.” You know my question was “WHY?” Don’t evade it again.
With regard to Nazi Germany, the state considered the vast majority of its citizens “ubermenschen.” It was only a small minority that were persecuted by the state. Be that as it may, you suppose America left in the hands of Democrats inevitably will lead to genocide?
Jeff:
You don’t get to pick what Turley writes about. Turley regularly criticized Donald Trump, even though he currently contributes to right leaning Fox. He also contributes to left leaning media.
You appear to be in denial that history has been clear on the danger of making the state too powerful at the expense of individual rights. Learn from history, or repeat it.
Democrats rioted, looted, committed arson, and seized entire city blocks, holding them against the police. It was anarchy for about a year in blue run cities. Of course Democrats could usher in violence. With Democrats in power, we have unbearable illegal immigrant surges at the border, including those on the terrorist watch list. Biden want’s to remove title 42 expulsion. We are now getting about 2 million illegal immigrants a year, once Biden took office. This would create an even greater, tsunami surge. We have high gas prices, which caused high food prices, and high prices for all goods and services. We have out of control inflation. Biden wants to forgive student loan debt, which would cost the nation billions more, and cause more inflation. Democrats ushered in pro-crime, anti police measures, with skyrocketing murder rates. People in Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Melrose are now being followed by gangs, car jacked, assaulted, and robbed. Shoplifting is not prosecuted in CA, as long as it’s under $950, so people steal with impunity. Stores are closing because they cannot afford all the theft losses. There are countless videos of entitled thieves stealing lots of loot in Walgreens and other stores, especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Fights are getting really common in the schools out by us. it was decided that too many minorities were getting suspended. Democrats teach disparity means racism. Hence, people now fight with impunity. Having police officers at schools is now deemed racist. Even if a cop did intervene to break up a fight, CA democrats would just turn on him. So now every single day there are fights, bomb threats, shooting threats, or something else, in the surrounding areas.
Yep. With the Left in power, we get dystopia, violence, and murder. God help us if they grabbed more power, or held what they have for longer. Look how much carnage they’ve caused in just 2 years. Afghanistan, Putin, inflation…
Karen says:
“You don’t get to pick what Turley writes about. Turley regularly criticized Donald Trump, even though he currently contributes to right leaning Fox. He also contributes to left leaning media.”
Again, you are evading my question. I’ll try once more: “Why do you suppose Turley has never adopted the oft-used Trumpist rhetoric of his Fox colleagues: “hoax,” “witch-hunt,” Deep State,” “fake news,” or “Marxists”?
Will you take a stab at it this time?
Say it with me: Turley is a NeverTrumper.
“Say it with me: Turley is a NeverTrumper.”
Despite you not knowing what a NeverTrumper is, Turley agrees with most of Trump’s policies. That is what counts, policy, not the rhetoric of hate coming from the left and your lips.
As censorship of anyone trying to put on the brakes on automatic affirmation transgenderism, I would like to outline the case history of Jazz.
Jazz’s parents said that at 2 years old, Jazz declared he wanted to be a girl. He asked when the fairy would come to take off his penis. He liked to wear dresses and dance. His parents let him live as a girl at home by age 3, thinking it would save him from trauma and suffering. By age 4, he was living as a girl outside the home. He was given puberty blockers early, and had a transgender TV show at age 14. He had sex reassignment surgery at age 17. However, as he was given puberty blockers so early, it stunted his genital growth. He was unable to experience arousal or sexual pleasure even before the surgery. There was not enough genital material to create an artificial vagina the usual way. He went ahead with the surgery and had major complications. He Tweeted that his vagina looked so bad that his parents and surgeons wouldn’t let him see it. He had to get a mirror and look for himself. He’s now had 2 corrective surgeries after the original vaginoplasty. He still cannot experience any sexual pleasure, and has no libido. He binge eats, and has gained 100 pounds. He suffers from depression and other mental health issues.
From the age of 2, he got everything he asked for. To live as a girl. Attention. Praise. Affirmation. Drugs to block puberty. Castration. The creation of an artificial vagina. None of this turned him into a biological woman. The vaginoplasty did not go as he thought it would. The puberty blockers had serious side effects, like the inability to feel pleasure, that was unexpected. The drugs stunted his genitals, which made the surgery more risky and less successful.
This is the dark reality of automatic affirmation and puberty blockers. The public doesn’t hear this, for the most part. It’s all about rainbows and being true to yourself. Tyra Banks now has a show coming out called “Generation Drag” in which children wear sexy drag costumes and do sexy dances for admiring adult audiences. It features a transgender who looks like he’s dying. He’s so thin, and his voice comes out wispy, like he has no energy and his spirit is failing. He tears up when looking at early family photos, where he said he was forced to “pretend” he was a boy. This person looks like a suicide risk now, even though the family and medical community is affirming.
Since the overwhelming majority of children who experience gender dysphoria grow out of it by the time they are 18, as long as they don’t take puberty blockers or surgery, one has to wonder where Jazz and this child on “Generation Drag” would be today if they had not encountered automatic affirmation every step of the way.
Readings this, do you consider it transphobic to oppose automatic affirmation, puberty blockers, and surgery for minors? Would you let a 2 year old declare himself a puppy, and encourage him to live as a dog? Would you let him get a tattoo? Did that 2 year old feel left out as a boy in the family? Did he get attention and praise for wanting to be other? Did no one help him accept and embrace his own body and biology?
If someone can be born in the wrong body, then they can be born the wrong race. Or species. Or any number of things. You cannot condemn the Race Identity Disorder of Rachel Dolezal, but call gender an undefinable state of mind. If all you have to do to be a woman is declare yourself so, then all you have to do to be black is declare yourself so. Use self tanner, hair dye, and perms if you want to pass, or just declare yourself so. My entire gender experience has been reduced to a man saying he’s a woman, but he cannot define woman. My gender was treated unequally for millennia, but now it’s a state of mind. Why would race be any different?