US Lawmakers Blast UK’s New Online Age Checks as Threat to Free Speech – Know Reason
United States: A growing number of US politicians have criticized a new British law that requires some websites and apps — including some based in America — to verify the ages of their users in the UK.
A bipartisan group of members of Congress traveled to London to meet British lawmakers and share their concerns about the UK’s Online Safety Act, which took effect on July 25. Vice President JD Vance had been speaking out against the law for months, as had privacy groups who said it hurt free speech and put vulnerable people at risk.
While visiting the UK, Vance again attacked the law. Sitting next to British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, he warned that Britain was heading down a “very dark path” of online censorship, comparing it to actions taken by the Biden administration.
The UK passed a law to prevent children from accessing harmful online material. It required users to prove their age through ID photos, credit card verification, or facial recognition scans.
Many Britons were surprised to find they now had to prove their age not only for porn sites, but also for music with explicit lyrics or message boards about sensitive topics. Reddit, for example, restricted access to pages like r/stopsmoking, r/STD, and r/aljazeera, citing harmful substances, explicit images, or violent content, according to NBC News.
VPN use in the UK quickly surged as people tried to get around the rules.
US lawmakers mainly argued that American tech companies should not have to follow these UK rules, even if they had British users. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan said the law and other European regulations created a “chilling effect” on free expression and could harm the First Amendment rights of Americans.
The fight could end up in court if tech companies sued, or it could become an issue in US–UK trade talks — though British officials said it was not up for debate in trade deals.
The Online Safety Act was one of the toughest laws any democracy had passed to limit harmful online content. While its main target was pornography and suicide-related material, it also covered bullying, violence, dangerous stunts, and harmful substances. Big services like Spotify and Xbox had to comply, or risk fines of up to 10% of their global revenue.
British public opinion polls showed strong support for the law — 69% approved — though many doubted it would stop minors from viewing pornography. The law was passed under a Conservative government but came into effect under Labour. The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, campaigned to repeal it, calling it “state suppression of genuine free speech.”
Most US-based tech firms followed the rules. Microsoft told Xbox users in the UK they would have to verify their age or lose social features. Discord applied heavy content filtering to all UK accounts until users proved they were adults. Elon Musk’s X restricted some posts about conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as reported by NBC News.
Some companies refused to comply. The far-right site Gab blocked the UK entirely, calling the law “tyranny.” US lawyer Preston Byrne said he planned to sue on behalf of a client to stop British enforcement in America.
The issue had been building for months. When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met President Donald Trump at the White House, Trump let Vance respond to a question on free speech. Vance warned the law could hurt US tech firms and Americans’ rights. Starmer defended the UK’s record, saying Britain had protected free speech for a long time and did not interfere with US systems.
British officials later confirmed they would not change the law in trade talks. Privacy advocates in the US warned that similar laws at home could damage online freedom for young people.
