UK Parliament Watch

Elon Musk has been giving off mixed signals about the direction of travel for his newly acquired Twitter. On one hand he seems to speak about more freedom of speech. Perhaps hinting that the pre-censorship cancel culture movement will have no truck on Twitter. On the other hand he has been speaking about authenticating all humans, possibly meaning ID verification for all users. Surely a move that will increase censorship as the authorities will then have more power to identify and punish those whose views differ from those mandated by the state.

Anyway this suggestion of mass ID verification has piqued the interest of pro-censorship MPs in the UK parliament. Julian Knight, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee, has written to Musk wishing to speak further about mass ID verification. Knight wrote:

My committee has noted your proposed acquisition of Twitter and we are interested in the developments you propose. In particular, your intention to roll out verification for all users echoes our calls on the U.K. government as part of proposed legislation, which we hope will restore the U.K. public's trust in digital platforms.

Diana Johnson is an MP known for her campaigning against the sex trade. She has called for the Online Censorship Bill to include new powers for internet censor Ofcom to investigate whether adult entertainers have properly consented to appear in pornographic films. She said she wants to see Ofcom be more proactive in investigating issues around consent in the online pornography industry, rather than wait for complaints to be made.

The bill now stipulates that commercial pornography websites must implement age/identity verification checks to ensure all its users are aged 18 and over. However, Johnson told PoliticsHome that the legislation does not go far enough on the matter of protecting women's bodies from sexual exploitation. She wants the government to crack down on ensuring adult entertainers are of age and have properly consented to appear in online videos.

Others also personal advantage from this idea of consent. Jason Domino, an adult performer and representative with the United Sex Workers union, believes trade unions should be responsible for overseeing consent in the industry. He said:

Why are the voices of the trade union of sex workers not involved in this policy currently?

Ofcom has no experience at this point of dealing with this topic, and there are many politicians who also have no experience at all, particularly when it comes to matters of people's privacy.

Repressive new censorship laws return to Parliament for their second reading this week.

Online censorship legislation will be debated in the Commons Comes as new plans to support some people and fight  deemed falsities online are launched Funding boost will help people's critical thinking online through a new expert Media Literacy Taskforce alongside proposals to pay for training for teachers and library workers

Parliamentarians will debate the government's groundbreaking Online Censorship Bill which requires social media platforms, search engines and other apps and websites allowing people to post content to censor 'wrong think' content.

Ofcom, the official state censor, will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the laws up to ten per cent of their annual global turnover, force them to improve their practices and block non-compliant sites. Crucially, the laws have strong measures to safeguard children from harmful content such as pornography and child sexual abuse.