U.S. and U.K. Among 60 Countries to Sign Declaration that Commits to Censoring “Misinformation” and “Harmful” Speech

2 min read

The United States and 60 other countries, including the U.K., Canada, Australia and EU member states, have signed a sweeping “Declaration for the Future of the Internet” which commits to bolstering “resilience to disinformation and misinformation” and somehow upholding free speech rights while also censoring “harmful” content. Reclaim the Net has more.

The White House framed the declaration as something that supports freedom and privacy by focusing on its commitments to protect human rights, the free flow of information, and privacy. The EU put out similar talking points and claimed that those who signed the declaration support a future internet that’s open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure.

However, the commitments in the declaration are vague and often conflicting. For example, the declaration makes multiple commitments to upholding freedom of expression yet also commits to bolstering “resilience to disinformation and misinformation”. It also contains the seemingly contradictory commitment of ensuring “the right to freedom of expression” is protected when governments and platforms censor content that they deem to be harmful.

Furthermore, many of the governments that signed this declaration are currently pushing sweeping online censorship laws or openly supporting online censorship.

For example, just a few days ago, the Biden administration called for private companies to censor online “misinformation” – the latest of many similar calls. The EU also recently passed its Digital Services Act (DSA) which contains requirements to censor “hate speech” and “misinformation.”

Some government officials, including Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry François-Philippe Champagne and UK Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) Secretary of State Nadine Dorries, even mentioned their country’s online censorship laws during the live launch of this Declaration for the Future of the Internet.

The new Orwellian definition of ‘free speech’, which involves censorship of ‘misinformation’ – defined as anything that disagrees with the Government – and ‘hate speech’ – defined as anything not deemed sufficiently woke – is gaining ground. The ‘Conservative’ Party in the U.K. seems blissfully unaware that conservative ideas are precisely what the ‘progressives’ pushing this agenda want to censor, and already are.

Worth reading in full.

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183 Comments
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Epi
Epi
4 years ago

The ‘Conservative’ Party in the U.K. seems blissfully unaware that conservative ideas are precisely what the ‘progressives’ pushing this agenda want to censor, and already are.”

Are they THICK or MAD or BOTH?!

David Beaton
David Beaton
4 years ago

Does this mean the end of the Daily Sceptic and the sources of so much valable truth that they do not want us to hear? Any lawyers interested?

Think Harder
Think Harder
4 years ago

It’s depressing that my government wants to do this and even more depressing that the sheeple can’t be bothered to notice (yet).

SomersetHoops
SomersetHoops
4 years ago

This is a disaster. So many things about global warming and Covid have proven to be wrong or will be, but would be, or have been censored out by this stupidity. Where can we go to get alternative but often valid views about things? Are we going back to Victorian times where people with non approved views will need to distribute handbills? What anti free speech idiot in our government agreed to this? Somebody please let us have their name(s) so we can vote them out at the first opportunity.

marebobowl
marebobowl
4 years ago

Who is the judge of misinformation? That will be up to the very busy courts to decide when the thousands of lawsuits come rushing in. Boy will the real criminals be happy with that😂🌍😂😂

Kornea112
Kornea112
4 years ago

Governments are losing control of the narrative and the ability to manipulate public opinion and thus control the masses. This is mainly due to the growth of information available through social media and the internet. MSM is unhappy particularly Public Broadcasters because their half truths, misinformation and lies designed to manipulate opinion are more easily exposed. This is not about protecting anyone from hate speech, that is the excuse. Many governments are using advisors from China who are experts in internet censorship and blocking messages that are unfriendly to the government.

gedhurst
gedhurst
4 years ago

Trying to stop this is like whistling in the wind. The amount of support it generates from people not wanting to appear unsympathetic (‘unmutual’) is incredible. Either society is inevitably heading for the dustbin of history at increasing speed or the Tavistock Institute’s NLP program has been incredibly successful. Whatever, there’s a positive feedback loop in operation and the prognosis is not good.

FrankFisher
FrankFisher
4 years ago

This is world war 3 and only one side is fighting.

Jack Daw
Jack Daw
4 years ago

I’m re-reading 1984. Orwell had incredible foresight.
We see in COVID and climate change that “misinformation” can be the truth and “settled science” to be misinformation. I don’t hold out much hope for the future.

MikeHaseler
MikeHaseler
4 years ago

U.S. and U.K. Among 60 Countries to Sign Declaration that Commits to Censoring “Misinformation” and “Harmful” Speech

That’ll be the Guardian and Biased Brainwashing Cult with nothing left to publish.

Covid-1984
Covid-1984
4 years ago

I bet Sleepy Joe Biden wants to ban all padlocks on cemeteries

J4mes
J4mes
4 years ago

Combine this with the UK regime signing the UK up to be the global epicentre of ‘vaccine’ experimentation and development.

Then combine both with the government moving to diminish the power of the court over itself.

Hello Chinese Democracy!

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago

Sixty countries sign up to censorship and vicious repression and there is no

Lockstep.

Yeah right.

Backlash
Backlash
4 years ago

Paki shit arse cunt twat chink nigger coon sooty wanker poofter uphill gardener faggot dyke muff diver wog wop spic frog yank kraut sausage jockey chutney ferret

We didn’t start the fire 🙂

J4mes
J4mes
4 years ago
Reply to  Backlash

LOL

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Backlash

Stop picking on the Tories.

MikeHaseler
MikeHaseler
4 years ago

That’ll be “harmful speech” such as Tommy Robinson calling out the Grooming gangs … or “harmful speech” such as presenting the evidence that the Jab was killing people, etc.

The real pushers of lies and dishonesty are the (once)Mainstream Media and the politicians.

A Y M
A Y M
4 years ago

Game over.
The West is done.

Dodgy Geezer
Dodgy Geezer
4 years ago

We need to know:

Who determines what we are allowed to say?
What their qualifications are for this task?
How do we appeal their decisions?
Where and when we can vote for them….

Backlash
Backlash
4 years ago
Reply to  Dodgy Geezer

And also where is the definitive list of what we’re not allowed to say? I was thrown off the Telegraph site and nearly this one too for daring to ask how can I understand how moderators subjectively think if they won’t publish their thought processes?

Woodburner
Woodburner
4 years ago

Corruption empowers, and absolute corruption empowers absolutely…

iane
iane
4 years ago

‘The ‘Conservative’ Party in the U.K. seems blissfully unaware that conservative ideas are precisely what the ‘progressives’ pushing this agenda want to censor, and already are.’

Not at all: that is precisely what the current mob of CINOs want!

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago

Just for clarification in the future when Boris denies doing something that he did will it be a illegal for anyone to express doubt or to dispute Boris’ claim?

By way of example if Boris stands up during PMQ and he is clearly being sucked off by a male prostitute (probably an MP wanting a cabinet position) and Boris declares that he is not being sucked off as he speaks is it misinformation for anyone to say otherwise?

iane
iane
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

Possibly Carrie Antoinette might have a view on that – though the end of her term is surely a ‘when’, not an ‘if’!

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago
Reply to  iane

If Carrie goes it will be on her terms. She will have so much dirt on Bozo he probably can’t piss without her permission.

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago

We all know that the narrative demands that Putin is the current Hitler and we are all supposed to bang our saucepans on Thursday to prove we hate him, but in reality our own government’s are a far greater threat to us than Putin ever will be.

Nearhorburian
Nearhorburian
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

Yep: unlike our government of corrupt Third World midgets, Putin has never done me any harm.

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  Nearhorburian

His recent speech about his views on the west was quite illuminating. Not surprising why it is not widely known here. It was straightforward stuff. Shockingly he believes the role of societal leaders is to look out for the welfare of citizens, ensuring they can buy a house of their own, be left in peace and feel valued by their own society that they are making a contribution no matter how basic.

No wonder they brand him as a Hitler. Dangerous ideas.

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

To be fair that does sound like Hitler.
The actual Hitler not the propaganda version we were all indoctrinated with.

Annie
Annie
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

What, the Hitler who never knew that Jews were being murdered en masse?

Alter Ego
Alter Ego
4 years ago
Reply to  Annie

Yep – the one who called for the elimination of the Jewish “problem”.

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Annie

Which other UK government narratives do you believe?

Alter Ego
Alter Ego
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

No – it doesn’t. Read Mein Kampf, and check out the speeches.

Milo
Milo
4 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

Good Lord, almost kind of Russian version of Ron deSantis – someone who speaks sense.

PW
PW
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

As usual, an excellent summing up, Mr Tea……

Milo
Milo
4 years ago

So, “free speech” has been conveniently, like so much else over the past 2 years, redefined to mean the opposite of what we formerly knew free speech to be.

And it has been signed up to by so many governments across the world, just like the WHO pandemic treaty really.

And there isn’t anything like a New World Order coming into being at all is there?

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  Milo

There isn’t. There is an AMBITION only. But that isn’t how the world works.

Your job is to reject it

Milo
Milo
4 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

Oh, I do. Fully. Every day. Several times a day. But that doesn’t seem to be doing much to stop it.

It seems to be creeping into existence, fact by fact, news story, by news story. And if you actually join the dots you wouldn’t sleep at night.

BTW, FWIW, despite my post in reply seeming facetious, SFAIK we are on the same side.

Alter Ego
Alter Ego
4 years ago
Reply to  Milo

Let me help with the stiffening of the sinews. Firstly, without your resistance and the resistance of people like you, things would be worse – because authoritarians and tyrants do not control themselves.

Secondly, there is such a thing as critical mass. You seem like you’re losing – until one day ….

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago
Reply to  Alter Ego

Bloody hell I hope you are right AE.

civilliberties
civilliberties
4 years ago

“we protect regulated speech and expression” no freedom of course.

it does feel like there is already a one world government already in place when you consider how similar many countries are now, if 60 countries have signed this thing then the Internet in yrs to come will be nearly the same in all 60 countries if it goes to the powers plans. this also goes onto the same response to the so called virus and also the move by countries into cbdc and also the ID app credit score etc.

There is also not much to pick between say the UK and china these days, considering the Uk passed the policing bill that among other things has the potential to limit protests, the harms bill when passed will further limit speech and also the human rights act which may be messed with and altered for the worse.

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  civilliberties

This is not true. China is full of the Chinese. The UK has us and our very long tradition of defiance.

Magna Carta did not appear out of nowhere. And that spirit resides within many of us. That’s what they don’t get. That’s what happens when you have a literal elite; they are not of the people and are cut off from the lifeblood of the nation. They misunderstand what makes us tick.

We will prevail.

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

Perhaps that is part of the reason for relentless mass immigration?

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

The major factor for mass immigration is to erode the elements that enable a nation-state to function. Foremost is the notion of being a part of the land where your ancestors lived and died. Perhaps they sacrificed much so you could live a better life.

What is key is who emigrates. Those familiar with the biggest groups will be aware most are economic migrants not anglophile enthusiasts. That is important. I know a number of Asians born here who maintain property back in the old country as they don’t expect it to last. This is especially true of the ones who were part of the African sphere, like Priti Patel. An interesting insight into how they think.

Economic migrants don’t integrate, just as we wouldn’t if we worked in Dubai or Saudi Arabia. It is getting harder to hide the parallel societies emerging in the UK.

A passerby
A passerby
4 years ago

and after the internet, then what, telepathy?

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  A passerby

If you’ve read Orwell you are not far off. The goal of totalitarianism is to control thought.

Sforzesca
Sforzesca
4 years ago
Reply to  A passerby

Don’t worry. The USA has been working on MRI technology on brain scans to show what you are actually thinking.
In part it is fascinating as it seems as though thoughts formulate in the brain before you actually act on them.

A passerby
A passerby
4 years ago
Reply to  Sforzesca

I was thinking of natural telepathy, not a thought transmission monitoring system operated by big brother.

Smelly Melly
Smelly Melly
4 years ago

Who will “police” the disinformation and who will police the police?

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  Smelly Melly

The goal is to get people to police themselves, much as they do now with topics they’ve been taught are sensitive like immigration, cultural differences and gay rights.

The most powerful form of censorship in the Soviet Union was self censorship. All those writers and editors understood what they could and couldn’t write.

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  Smelly Melly

Well there’s an organisation called the “Free Speech Union”…

civilliberties
civilliberties
4 years ago

There will be a point when using the Internet will be completely pointless and switching off maybe the only option when everything is controlled absolute, least at the moment their is still room to view “unauthorized” non approved by the state opinions and views, however the point of no return is gathering pace whereby one day anything one sees is just state approved info.

RedhotScot
RedhotScot
4 years ago
Reply to  civilliberties

There are a number of alternative internets in ‘production’ as we speak. One by Tim Berners Lee.

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  RedhotScot

Best news I’ve heard since shale gas under Lancashire. If (likewise) it can work.

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  civilliberties

They will try. But the key characteristic of government is incompetence.

The internet is hard to control. Plus any clampdown will trigger an arms race. That’s what they don’t understand, when you suppress something it doesn’t go away. And it becomes even more attractive to some.

Backlash
Backlash
4 years ago
Reply to  civilliberties

You’re spot on, people will be sick of cyber interference and migrate back to pubs to mingle and chat.
Everything is cyclical. The internet age brought many conveniences but much trouble, it will fall and find its level

RedhotScot
RedhotScot
4 years ago

Partgate and beergate ‘misinformation’ will now be banned. As will politicians gay dalliances, affairs, accusations of murder, and watching porn on Taxpayers time; probably using equipment we paid for.

How convenient.

Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
4 years ago
Reply to  RedhotScot

It is important we shield the plebs from these upsetting things. Just like the Chinese government believe rural parts of their country aren’t yet ready for the internet. It would upset them. Ignorance is bliss.

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  RedhotScot

I say, didn’t politicians used to get “that sort of thing” on expenses?

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago

I wonder who will be first in front of a bent judge?

Will it be a well known public figure or some poor pleb?

And what will the topic be?

Trans rights? Upsetting a person of colour? Disrespecting the wrong football team? Calling Bozo a traitor?

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Are Metalist Kharkiv protected now?

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago
Reply to  Hugh

Who are they?

pjar
pjar
4 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

A Ukrainian Football Club, based not surprisingly in Kharkiv.

Hugh may just have outed himself as a Russian bot farm… ;o)

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago
Reply to  pjar

Thanks. I don’t follow football. Hugh’s a decent chap.

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  pjar

They are also reportedly linked to the Azov battalion (if I remember rightly). Like a number of East European clubs, they have a far right element. But since they are now fighting against the “forces of evil”…

Alter Ego
Alter Ego
4 years ago
Reply to  Hugh

Nuff said – that’s whoever they say it is, right?

Hugh
Hugh
4 years ago
Reply to  Alter Ego

Anyhow, it sounds like Azov are more or less beaten, at least in Mariupol. But whatever, they were fighting the Russians, and therefore presumably must not be disrespected. Anyway, I’m not sure that I’ve entirely trusted UK justice since Blair’s politicised “supreme court”. I think this is bound to be bad for free speech (and I think back to a certain UK act which was supposed to be for a few hard cases, but inevitably became routine).

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago
Reply to  Hugh

Bliar ? Enough said.

PhantomOfLiberty
PhantomOfLiberty
4 years ago

IS THERE SOME HOPE THAT DAILY SCEPTIC MIGHT GET TO HIGHLIGHT THE FORTHCOMING WHO PANDEMIC TREATY BEFORE IT IS SIGNED INTO EXISTENCE LATER THIS MONTH?

huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
4 years ago

Fair point. The doo doo will fly when that is nodded through.

Milo
Milo
4 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

But will it HP?

Will MSM even cover the fact that it is being signed – would your ordinary bloke down the pub or on the bus even have a clue what it is about, and understand the implications of it?

And considering the amount of covidianism about, I would imagine that a lot of people would think the WHO pandemic treaty is a “good thing”.

Emerald Fox
Emerald Fox
4 years ago

It’s already been highlighted and forgotten about, just like the Canadian truckers’ protest.

PhantomOfLiberty
PhantomOfLiberty
4 years ago
Reply to  Emerald Fox

I missed it and I follow quite closely.

Superunknown
Superunknown
4 years ago

So does this mean they will be shutting down most of the MSM and government accounts then?

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