Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that Britain "fiercely" protects free speech, but when it was used to incite real harm to children and vulnerable people there was a limit.
"Free speech is one of the founding values of the United Kingdom, and we protect it jealously and fiercely and always will," Starmer told reporters as he stood alongside U.S. President Donald Trump.
"I draw a limit between free speech and the speech of those that want to peddle pedophilia and suicide (on) social media to children," he said.
"Therefore I'm all for free speech, but I'm also for protecting children from things that will harm them."
Britain's new Online Safety Law requires social media companies to remove illegal content on their platforms.
Encouraging self-harm, for example, was made a criminal offence so it was covered by the law.
An attempt by the previous government to ban content that was deemed to "harmful but legal" was abandoned because it risked curbing free speech.
However, police action over social media posts, such as the arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan for publishing comments about transgender issues on X earlier this month, had raised questions about how existing laws should apply online.
The police defended Linehan's arrest, but said its officers were in an "impossible position" arbitrating between free speech and criminal content.
Police have identified the suspect who fatally shot three officers in southern Pennsylvania as 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, who was already wanted ...
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Thursday that Britain "fiercely" protects free speech, but when it was used to incite real harm to children and vu...
Iran and Saudi Arabia – the two power houses in the Middle East -- have decided to advance their bilateral economic and defense ties and to increase...
Canada's government is sending more asylum-seekers hoping to file claims in Canada back to the U.S. under a bilateral pact, even as the U.S. says it m...
Germany's parliament approved on Thursday the nation's first annual budget since sweeping reforms to loosen fiscal rules were passed earlier this year...
Police have identified the suspect who fatally shot three officers in southern Pennsylvania as 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, who was already wanted on stalking charges.
Canada's government is sending more asylum-seekers hoping to file claims in Canada back to the U.S. under a bilateral pact, even as the U.S. says it may deport them to third countries.
Germany's parliament approved on Thursday the nation's first annual budget since sweeping reforms to loosen fiscal rules were passed earlier this year, securing record investments to revive the economy while committing to an increase in defence spending.
Ukrainian troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts in a joint group on countering drones, Ukraine's defence minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday, a week after Russian drones flew into Poland.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Police have identified the suspect who fatally shot three officers in southern Pennsylvania as 24-year-old Matthew James Ruth, who was already wanted on stalking charges.
Canada's government is sending more asylum-seekers hoping to file claims in Canada back to the U.S. under a bilateral pact, even as the U.S. says it may deport them to third countries.
Ukrainian troops and engineers will train their Polish counterparts in a joint group on countering drones, Ukraine's defence minister Denys Shmyhal said on Thursday, a week after Russian drones flew into Poland.
The Ambassador of Afghanistan to Russia, Ghulam Hassan, has met with Zamir Kabulov, Moscow’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, to discuss deepening ties and regional engagement, the Afghan embassy in Moscow said on Wednesday.
FBI chief Kash Patel told the U.S. Senate on Tuesday there was “no credible information” that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women or underage girls to anyone but himself, as he defended the bureau’s decision to close its review.
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