- Internal emails released by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveal Ofcom pressuring U.S.-based companies like Rumble and Reddit to comply with the U.K.'s Online Safety Act, despite being outside U.K. jurisdiction.
- Rumble stated the U.K. is not a target market and has few U.K. users, but Ofcom warned it would "monitor" the platform and follow up if any U.K.-related incidents arise.
- Ofcom seeks to establish "supervisory relationships" with foreign platforms and reserves the right to make legal information requests, implying possible enforcement action.
- Critics argue the U.K. law uses vague terms like "hate" content and sets a dangerous precedent for extraterritorial censorship and political manipulation of speech standards.
- Under Section 122, companies may be forced to scan for CSAM and terrorist content, steps privacy experts say would undermine end-to-end encryption and user security.
Newly released internal communications made public by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee reveal a concerted campaign by the United Kingdom's media regulator, Ofcom, to pressure U.S.-based tech companies into adopting British content moderation standards, regardless of their location or legal obligations under American free speech protections.
The documents, including emails from May this year, highlight repeated attempts by Ofcom to compel platforms like Rumble and Reddit to align with the U.K.'s Online Safety Act – a censorship regime cloaked in the language of child protection and harm prevention.
In one such email exchange, Rumble pushed back against Ofcom's outreach, stating plainly that the U.K. is not a target market for the video-sharing platform and that it has "no significant number of U.K. users." Despite this, the regulator warned that it would be "monitoring Rumble's position carefully" and might revisit the company's stance if U.K.-related incidents arose.
"We will be monitoring Rumble's position carefully and will be in touch should we become aware of anything that contradicts the above position, or any incidents on your service that cause us to believe the level of risk to Rumble's U.K. users is of concern," Ofcom wrote in an email to Rumble dated May 21. "We would strongly encourage Rumble to take the steps required by the Act to protect U.K. users of internet services from content that is illegal in the U.K. or potentially harmful to U.K. children."
Rumble, headquartered in the United States, operates under the protection of the First Amendment, which broadly safeguards freedom of expression. That context raises constitutional questions about a foreign government's attempt to influence how American companies police speech.
The emails suggest that Ofcom is not merely offering guidance but is laying the groundwork for a "supervisory relationship" with overseas tech firms. In a message dated May 8, the agency emphasized its intent to "review and assess compliance" even if platforms are not physically operating within the United Kingdom. Ofcom noted it "retains the right to legally request information," signaling a willingness to escalate to formal demands if companies fail to cooperate voluntarily.
Reddit, another U.S.-based platform, was similarly targeted. According to the communications, Ofcom expects a detailed "supervision plan" from Reddit, particularly around its handling of so-called "hate" content – a term that is alarmingly vague and susceptible to political exploitation. (Related: U.K. Reddit users now required to verify their age under new Online Safety Act.)
U.K.'s Online Safety Law sets dangerous global precedent
The revelations have alarmed free speech advocates, who argue that the U.K.'s approach could become a template for global regulatory overreach.
"This shows how regulators are leveraging ambiguous language and compliance pressure to steer speech policies on platforms that are not even based in the United Kingdom," Rick Findlay wrote in his article for Reclaim the Net. "Ofcom's behavior shows a bureaucratic intent to expand its influence far beyond Britain's borders, effectively demanding that foreign platforms enforce U.K. legal standards on content that may not be illegal elsewhere."
The Online Safety Act, which came into force in 2024, gives Ofcom wide-ranging powers to fine, restrict or even block platforms that fail to comply with its guidelines. Under Section 122 of the Online Safety Act, Ofcom has the authority to require technology companies to scan user content for child sexual abuse material and terrorism-related content. Non-compliance could result in fines of up to £18 million ($24 million) or 10 percent of a company's global revenue.
However, privacy advocates and cybersecurity experts warned that fulfilling such scanning requirements would likely necessitate weakening end-to-end encryption.
Learn more about ID systems and other ways governments attempt to surveil their populations at Surveillance.news.
Watch this video to learn how the digital ID will control your life.
This video is from the Data Dumper channel on Brighteon.com.
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