They HATE Free Speech: U.K. Regulatory Rules Would Give Them Control Over U.S. Tech Companies

The U.K. -- home of George Orwell -- is determined to cement its place in the world as a tyrant hellbent on censorship of 'hate speech' and 'crimes' of ungoodthink.

They want to 'summon' Elon Musk to the U.K. to 'testify' on 'misinformation'. That's likely a trap where they'll arrest Musk for the crime of hurting the Labour Party's feelings, and Musk won't take that bait.

But that won't stop them. Now they're proposing regulatory rules that would give the U.K. authority over U.S. tech:

A new regulatory coup in the UK could give London regulators the power interfere at the level of product design and to stop any tech acquisition, anywhere, for basically any reason they want. More:

• A newly minted UK regulator will soon be handed a raft of sweeping powers that… pic.twitter.com/iCwNvy5cZN
— Pirate Wires (@PirateWires) November 26, 2024

The entire post reads:

A new regulatory coup in the UK could give London regulators the power interfere at the level of product design and to stop any tech acquisition, anywhere, for basically any reason they want. More:
• A newly minted UK regulator will soon be handed a raft of sweeping powers that will allow it to subject American tech companies to aggressive legal interventions
• A new 'ex-ante' framework means US tech companies will be forced to work with regulators at the level of product design
• Companies face fines of up to 10% of global revenue for violations and up to 5% of global revenue for failing to cooperate with investigations (potentially on top of similarly large fines levied by the EU)
• The new laws allow the UK government to compel businesses and individuals abroad to produce information, including testimony and documentation, even in cases where (a) the deal is not primarily UK-related (b) the individuals in question are not UK nationals or residents and (c) the relevant documents are stored outside the UK

'A lot of people are talking about how neoliberalism is over, and how the Washington Consensus failed,' says Radic. 'As a result, a lot of this new regulatory movement is about subjecting private companies to the control of the state. This is a shift in political economy concerning the role of the state versus the role of the market and the permissible limits of state power.'
The trend seems to be going global. In addition to the UK, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria, Germany, South Korea and Turkey are all either looking at or implementing similar regulatory frameworks. This means US companies powering digital innovation will be fighting on (at least) three fronts — one for technological progress, the second to keep competitors at bay, and the third against a raft of new regulations being pushed by world governments who are increasingly rejecting free market principles in favor of an approach that’s beginning to seem a lot like top-down economic planning.
There’s a possibility that the Trump administration will, at least in some form, push back. But in the meantime, the regulatory hurdles are getting higher and the fines are getting bigger.

The Trump administration needs to push back.

So basically the UK doesn’t want US technology. GLWT.
— Emily Schrader - אמילי שריידר امیلی شریدر (@emilykschrader) November 27, 2024

Yeah, good luck with that.

Doom and Gloom .. if U.K. Bureaucrats try to penalize American companies that don't bend some knee .. Trump will knee cap them.
— D Carter 🇺🇸 (@d_carter99) November 27, 2024

He needs to.

lol imagine having zero US tech companies operating in the UK

Stone Age
— Jimothy (@jamesbaratheon) November 26, 2024

Not our problem.

The UK has fallen. #FreeSpeech pic.twitter.com/w0DCjjEhDZ
— I Love America News (@ILA_NewsX) November 27, 2024

Nailed it.

The government putting its own regulators at the helm of private businesses is what actual fascism looks like in practice btw. Financiers fund the Gov and are dictating policy.

Starmer should at least have the decency to respect the public's intelligence by doing it covertly
— Thorolf Butter (@ThorolfButter) November 27, 2024

Nah, they're open about their fascism now.

this is just gonna end the moment jd vance suggests that in retaliation the US will no longer participate in the five eyes intelligence program
— Harris Rothaermel (@DeveloperHarris) November 26, 2024

YUP.

End result: products stop moving into the UK and it becomes a slightly-less-impoverished prison country than North Korea currently is.
— DeusVult (@WindchimeBridge) November 27, 2024

From 'Keep Calm and Carry On' to...whatever the heck Britain is today in two generations.

"Companies face fines of up to 10% of global revenue for violations and up to 5% of global revenue for failing to cooperate with investigations"
Are they trying to find out what life would be like without US technology?
Almost seems like a dare at this point.
— Miss Competence (@Miss_Competence) November 27, 2024

Call their bluff.

https://t.co/kGoo9psifJ pic.twitter.com/G0utggQDp2
— T (@tmarsh8364) November 27, 2024

Our sentiments exactly.

Soon, we will be sending shortwave radio programs overseas so the people of UK can hear what's going on in the rest of the world. This is some East German level stuff right here..... https://t.co/YUrsiHRyzz
— 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓷 𝓡𝓪𝔂 (@2CynicAl65) November 27, 2024

They read Orwell and thought it was an instruction manual.