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.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of exerting real pressure on Isra...
Iran will treat any military attack as an “all-out war,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as the United States moves additional naval and...
The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel suspected of narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people and leaving one...
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of making “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks about Nato forces in Af...
Russia and China said on Friday they oppose what they described as Western efforts to militarise the Asia-Pacific region, vowing closer coordination w...
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of exerting real pressure on Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza, arguing that Trump can act independently if he chooses.
Iran will treat any military attack as an “all-out war,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as the United States moves additional naval and air assets into the Middle East amid rising tensions.
The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel suspected of narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people and leaving one survivor, U.S. Southern Command said.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused U.S. President Donald Trump of making “insulting and frankly appalling” remarks about Nato forces in Afghanistan, saying the comments wrongly diminish the sacrifice of British and allied troops and should be followed by an apology.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
A commuter train collided with a construction crane in southeastern Spain on Thursday (22 January), injuring several passengers, days after a high-speed rail disaster in Andalusia killed at least 43 people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Türkiye opposes any form of foreign intervention in Iran, as protests and economic pressures continue to fuel tensions in the Islamic republic.
In the snowy peaks of Davos, where the world’s most powerful leaders gather for the 56th World Economic Forum, a new narrative is emerging that challenges the current dominance of artificial intelligence (AI).
NATO’s new 5% of GDP defence pledge shows renewed unity and focus on collective security, Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska told AnewZ in an exclusive interview. It came as U.S. President Donald Trump used his WEF address to again claim credit for pushing allies to lift defence spending.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Canada is opposing the possible construction of his proposed “Golden Dome” missile defence system over Greenland, despite what he claimed would be security benefits for Canada.
Germany is divided over whether to boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States if U.S. President Donald Trump were to follow through on remarks about annexing Greenland, a move widely viewed in Europe as a violation of international law.
Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump is the only leader capable of exerting real pressure on Israel to halt its military actions in Gaza, arguing that Trump can act independently if he chooses.
Iran will treat any military attack as an “all-out war,” a senior Iranian official said on Friday, as the United States moves additional naval and air assets into the Middle East amid rising tensions.
The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel suspected of narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two people and leaving one survivor, U.S. Southern Command said.
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