A new British rule that mandates that some websites and apps, including those based in the United States, verify the ages of users across the pond is being denounced by an increasing number of American legislators.
Recently, a bipartisan delegation of Congressmen traveled to London to meet with colleagues to voice their concerns regarding the July 25 implementation of the U.K.’s Online Safety Act. For months, privacy advocates and Vice President JD Vance have been denouncing the law, claiming that it violates free speech and unjustly harms vulnerable populations.
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On Friday, Vance again attacked the United Kingdom, this time in person as he began a tour to the nation. Speaking to reporters while seated next to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Vance cautioned the United Kingdom against following the Biden administration’s previous, “very dark path” of internet control.
Because of the U.K. Online Safety Act, which aims to keep kids away from potentially dangerous content on the internet, internet companies are now requesting that British users prove their age using a number of methods, such as selfies examined by age-check software, credit card company photos, or ID photos.
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However, some Britons have been taken aback by the law’s broad application. They are required to provide proof of age not only for pornographic websites but also before they can visit discussion boards to debate delicate topics or listen to songs with explicit lyrics. For instance, Reddit is blocking access to a number of pages, such as r/aljazeera, r/STD, and r/stopsmoking.
In a post regarding its implementation of the law, Reddit stated that it was now confirming users’ ages before allowing them to see specific explicit content in the United Kingdom. According to a corporate spokesman, r/STD, a discussion board devoted to sexual health issues, is blocked due to graphic content.They said that r/aljazeera, which is not connected to the news organization of the same name but covers related subjects, is prohibited because it shows severe violence or injury, and that r/stopsmoking is restricted because it deals with dangerous chemicals.
The usage of virtual private network software, or VPNs, which can conceal a user’s location, has increased dramatically in the United Kingdom in order to circumvent the new rule.
The main justification offered by American legislators opposing the rule is that they do not want American tech companies—even those who serve British customers—to be required to comply.
During talks in London at the end of July, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, a Republican from Ohio, said he voiced his concerns to representatives of the U.K. government. He said in a statement following his return that the law and other European restrictions seriously restrict free speech and jeopardize American citizens’ and businesses’ First Amendment rights.
We must undoubtedly safeguard minors and prevent harmful, unlawful content from appearing on digital platforms, but when governments or bureaucracy censor speech for safety or regulatory reasons, it creates a risky precedent that jeopardizes the fundamental principles of Western democracy, Jordan said.
The problem could escalate in a few different locations. That might be the courts if tech companies fight over the rule, or it might be brought up in trade talks if President Donald Trump brings up the matter with British MPs, even though they claim it isn’t up for discussion.
According to the Financial Times on Friday, Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist and board member of Meta who has strong connections to the Trump administration, recently called U.K. officials to voice his displeasure with the law. According to an Andreessen representative, the report was untrue.
One of the most extensive national regulations ever established in a democracy to try to limit potentially dangerous content online in the interest of children is the UK’s Online Safety Act. The bill was enacted by Parliament in 2023, and before it went into effect last month, the administration spent two years creating comprehensive regulations.
The law is noteworthy for a number of reasons, including the range of content it covers, the severe penalties, and its potential global application.
The substance in question is diverse. Although the law primarily targets online materials like suicide and pornography, it also mandates that websites age-gate content that includes bullying, severe violence, risky stunts, and exposure to dangerous substances. This has included comparatively popular services like Microsoft’s Xbox game system and Spotify.
Businesses who violate the law risk fines of up to 10% of their worldwide sales, which may amount to billions of dollars for the largest corporations. Companies must use extremely good age assurance to limit the riskiest kinds of information, according to the British regulator Ofcom, short for Office of Communications.
Furthermore, the United Kingdom has not been categorical that it will not permit enforcement to be impeded by international borders. According to Ofcom, the rule will be applied to services that have a sizable user base in the United Kingdom, services that have a target market of U.K. users, and services that have a material risk of causing serious harm to users in the United Kingdom.
The British population still seems to be very supportive of the law. In a YouGov survey conducted after implementation started, roughly 69% of respondents stated they supported the new regulations, with 46% saying they strongly supported them. However, 52% of respondents stated that they do not believe the regulation will do anything to stop children from viewing pornography.
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The law went into force under the current Labour-led government after being approved during a previous Conservative-led one.
However, Reform U.K., a far-right party, is advocating for the law’s repeal. Former MP and party leader Nigel Farage has referred to it as the state’s repression of true free expression, and his party is currently leading the polls.
According to Farage in a recent news conference, millions of people have realized that what they’re seeing on their feeds has changed.
According to Politico, Farage also met with visiting members of Congress last week. The discussions were heated, with Farage and Democrats exchanging obscenities, but it seemed that the disagreement was more about Trump’s restrictions on free speech than the UK statute.
Nigel Farage is a reform leader in the UK.Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
The majority of tech companies based in the United States claim to be in compliance with the new rule. According to a blog post by Microsoft, Xbox users in the UK will start receiving messages asking them to confirm their age once, with enforcement beginning the next year. Microsoft warned that customers who don’t follow the rules will no longer be allowed to utilize Xbox’s social functions, although they will still be able to play games.
Discord said that it would be introducing new default settings for all users in the United Kingdom. This would effectively regard all users as minors and heavily restrict content until users prove they are adults. According to Discord, users have the option of using an ID upload or a facial scan to confirm their age.
According to the BBC, Elon Musk’s X has also blocked posts that contain information about the hostilities in Gaza and Ukraine. Requests for response from Musk and X were not answered.
However, some services are not following the rules. In an announcement on its website, the far-right social media platform Gab, which permits white supremacist viewpoints and other extremist content, stated that it had received letters from Ofcom and, instead of complying, had chosen to suspend access to its website for the entire United Kingdom. “We refuse to comply with this tyranny,” the firm stated in the notice.
According to X, Preston Byrne, a U.S. attorney who focuses on technology matters, intends to bring legal action shortly on behalf of an unidentified client in an effort to stop the potential application of British law in the US.
Prior to the law’s implementation, the topic had been simmering for months. In February, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer brought it up during his visit to the White House.
When a reporter asked Trump about the U.K.’s free speech policy during an Oval Office meeting, Trump threw the topic to Vance, who voiced his disapproval.
Naturally, we share a unique bond with our friends in the United Kingdom and with some of our allies in Europe. But we also know that there have been infringements on free speech that actually affect not just the British of course, what the British do in their own country is up to them but also affect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens, he said.
Starmer defended the strategy of his government.
In the UK, free expression has existed for a very long time and will continue to do so for a very long time. Certainly, we wouldn t want to reach across U.S. systems and we don t, and that s absolutely right, he said.
British Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy later said the U.K.would not make any changesto the Online Safety Act as part of trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
American privacy advocates are watching the debate play out with alarm, concerned that similar age verification laws like new state laws targeting the Apple and Google app stores would upend the internet closer to home.
Paige Collings, a senior speech and privacy activist at the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that young people should be free to access information, communicate with one another and the outside world, play games, and express themselves online without the government dictating what speech is acceptable.
