Matthew Lesh, IEA Head of Public Policy, has written for City AM on the potential for the Online Safety Bill, which will compel Twitter to remove “hate speech” and “legal but harmful” content, to thwart Elon Musk’s designs for greater free speech on the platform.

“Despite claims from Dorries, and the weak duty to “have regard” for free expression, the Bill is designed to encourage censorship.”

“Twitter will be expected to proactively remove hate speech merely if they “reasonably consider” it to be illegal, without a criminal investigation or conviction. This is well below the usual “beyond reasonable doubt” criminal standard. If Musk fails to comply, Twitter will be investigated by Ofcom and could face multibillion pound fines.”

Read the full article here.