Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s communications regulator has recently declared that Americans are not protected from UK prosecution for violating their soviet-styled speech laws on social media reaching their citizens. So far, talk of bills being written to deal with this foreign intrusion on American sovereignty is all that’s been seen in response to this assertion by the UK.
The claim came effectively in an ongoing lawsuit in which Ofcom argued, “We also note 4chan’s claim that it is protected from enforcement action taken by Ofcom because of the First Amendment to the US Constitution. However, the First Amendment binds only the US government and not overseas bodies, such as Ofcom, and therefore, it does not affect Ofcom’s powers to enforce the Act in this case.”
The UK government’s communications regulator Ofcom is facing backlash and a federal lawsuit after asserting that the U.S. Constitution does not protect American citizens from its online censorship laws.
Under the United Kingdom’s sweeping Online Safety Act, Ofcom has been sending enforcement letters to small U.S. platforms, including 4chan and Kiwi Farms.
Ofcom is demanding compliance with British speech regulations and threatening heavy fines for noncompliance.
But the move has triggered what one U.S. attorney calls a “constitutional ambush.”
Preston Byrne, an attorney representing 4chan, Kiwi Farms, and two other American companies, said the regulator’s actions were “frankly asinine.”
“My clients are entirely American,” Byrne said.
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