Will Trump help 4Chan escape the UK’s internet police?
1 min read
Summary
4Chan’s lawyers have requested that the Trump administration protects them from the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), with a potential £18m fine on the cards.
The request could place the sites at the forefront of the Trump administration’s new diplomatic mandate, which aims to stop countries from stifling American hate speech on the internet.
Online safety laws are also expanding in other countries as political right-wing groups gain more force online.
In February, US Vice President J.D. Vance told the Munich Security Conference that “free speech, I fear, is in retreat” in the UK, and that the US would withdraw defence funding if the country did not relent.
Late last week, Byrne announced he would sue Ofcom in US federal court, and called on the administration to intervene.
However, if Trump does not intervene, Byrne plans to pursue lawsuits that aim to prevent the OSA from being enforceable against US companies.