From age and ID restrictions on the Internet, to charging rappers with “terrorism,” the U.K. is demolishing the most basic civil liberties. If we let them, U.S. leaders may be close behind.
So did people in the 80’s (before internet) have more free speech than now, or less?
Can’t anyone just build their own website and “free speech” all they want?
Private media owners always had control over their property, that isn’t new.
America is already well on its way to lose free speech as well. We have a secret police called “ICE” now, so it’s only a matter of time unless the “resistance democrats” finally do their fucking job
Could? go publicly criticize the Pedo in chief and watch what happens
The idea that America EVER had free fucking speech is propaganda. There is no such thing, not in the US and not anywhere. Nations have to control their propaganda or they lose their power. Want an example? Just log into your favorite feed-site in another country and look how radically different every post, every comment and every news story is. Our perspective in the US is as cultivated as it is anywhere else.
The only way we would ever have truly free speech in any capacity would be if we had a borderless world, and I don’t see that happening as long as we have money and classes.
Short of some alien species descending and absorbing everyone into a hive-mind, this isn’t going to change for a thousand years at least.
It’s the useful idiots on the left who keep saying freedom speech is a dogwhistle.
Anyone looking for “dogwhistles” in ANY capacity at this point is an idiot. It’s like flypaper to morons.
Yah kiddos, keep screaming about blue-jeans ads and making the other sides scream back, that will SURELY remove the actual white nationalists and fascists who own and control the country. Keep arguing on the internet to give the impression we actually have free-speech. It’s a planned and working system to delude the masses into thinking they have power to anything in the face of capitalism and the fascist system it requires to keep the line going up.
I think it’s odd (and pretty terrifying) the U.K. and U.S. have been on such similar and almost coordinated authoritarian tracks over the last few years. It started with a lot of gradual steps and more recently they seem to be ramping things up (which also seems pretty common for authoritarianism/by the time most people notice something weird is happening it’s too late).
Both ramping up A.I. to spy on, and control/micromanage their own civilians while refusing regulations or any public accountability for the A.I. they’re developing.
April 2024: U.S., U.K. Announce Partnership to Safety Test AI Models
Feb 2025: UK and US refuse to sign international AI declaration
May 2025: Brexit’s Failures Could Foreshadow Trump’s. Just Not in the Way You Might Think.
As someone who immigrated to the UK I can tell you this is a bit of a stretch. I’m not exactly afraid of dying in a hate crime at a traffic stop or ICE agents beating down my door to detain me here.
But yeah, some internet liberties are being steadily revoked. Hardly the same fucking thing as literally fearing for your life each day because of your last name or the color of your skin.
We have been on the same track in many respects since Reagan/Thatcher.
Definitely not a coincidence.
https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/reagan-and-heritage-unique-partnership
Britain never had free speech and always have been a absolute nanny state. It’s a prime example that government overreach does not result in any safety improvements.
Many people seem to ignore that british legislation is choke full of gag laws and restrictions on pretty fundamental rights.
Yeah why shoild they be able to tell me to wear seatbelts.
What is this ‘could be’ business?
How many whistleblowers and reporters did Bush and Obama charge with the Espionage Act?
A lil late on that
Come on… Things have been getting worse for a while, but this is a huge turning point
this is a huge turning point
The last actual huge turning point was Citizens United and the ability to outright own politicians. What we’re seeing now is the slow-turning boat finally catching up with that last big destruction of democratic rule.
But further back than that, people like Reagan and his administration laid a large percentage of the groundwork that made all this possible.
This is actually as bad as citizens united. They’re trying to end free speech entirely
I’d still like to see the numbers comparatively
What are you talking about? What numbers?
Numbers are a tool. This is apples and orange drink, you can’t reduce this to numbers
Whatever the fuck that means
It means that you’re asking for a metric that will not inform the subject at hand. Even worse, it will muddy the issue even more and mislead people
Math is a tool, and if misused it does damage, like any tool
Pretty much every company that matters decided to go full 1984 censorship and surveillance all at the same time. And the governments are more than happy to play along. UK, US, etc. Pretty much all of “the west”
Hopefully we’ll see more fediverse instances that allow freedom of speech.
They are paving the way for feudalism to replace liberal democracies,
Big time.
And thanks for the link! learned a new philosophy tag for the silicon-valley-government-buying-neo-nazi-death-cult.
🌠the more you know (about the enemy) and all that. . .
Don’t you guys cheer ending free speech anytime you are in power? I’m all for you joining the team, but please stop vilifying the people who got there before you.
What’s happening in Britain, thought current government was a good one?
Labour is centrist and they desperately want to exert more control. English are sheep, so no one will protest daddy government.
Supposedly centrist. They’re curious whether being populist right wing on some issues will win over Reform UK voters. It’s just that they’re so curious and are doing this so often that they’re well on their way into morphing into a right wing party.
so no one will protest daddy government.
Yea this is a problem…
Hopefully this doesn’t devolve into another USA vs UK shit flinging contest. Authoritarianism is on the rise everywhere, Trump and Starmer are both utilising state power to crack down on dissent and opposition. Those of us who are opposed to this shit are on the same side.
100%.
Doesn’t matter the country.
Do you work for a living?
Do you want to live without fear of governments and corporations breathing down your neck waiting to make an example of you or profit from you?
…Then we should be on the same side. Simple as.
Good-natured jabs aside, of course. ;) Love ya, Brits. <3
“and america could be next!” they literally have domestic concentration camps in america there is no freedom there
But how nice of the headline to imply such things don’t exist while pretending to be shocked about other things
Very information heavy article. I appreciate that.
Uh, America had free speech? First I’m hearing about it.
With a president meddling in both universities and media free speech, there is no way to seriously say USA has free speech.
But even before these issues freedom of speech was very challenged in USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Press_Freedom_IndexIf you’re wealthy enough, you can do whatever you want.
Freedom™
thank you random Canadian Lemmy user!
/s
You’re more than welcome!
That was lost a while ago, but it’s nice more people are noticing that it’s getting worse.
