UK Lawyer Lorcán Price Warns of Free Speech Threats in Europe and the US

Threats to Free Expression in Europe

• 🇪🇺 Lorcán Price, Legal Counsel at ADF International, highlights a perilous situation for freedom of expression in Europe and the UK.
• ⚖️ He cites cases such as a Finnish Member of Parliament prosecuted for posting scripture on Twitter, a Scottish grandmother arrested for offering consensual conversations, and an English army veteran prosecuted for silent prayer.
• 🎤 A UK comedian was recently arrested for tweets about gender ideology, and German pensioners face raids and prosecution for insulting politicians.

The Digital Services Act (DSA)

• 💻 The Digital Services Act (DSA) is presented as the EU's response to growing public discontent, aiming to suppress dissent.
• 🚫 Price describes the DSA as an anti-speech law that creates a "digital censorship industrial complex" through mechanisms like trusted flaggers, codes of conduct on hate speech, and content moderation for systemic risks.
• 🌍 The EU is actively integrating the DSA into trade deals, aiming to set a global standard for speech regulation.

Impact on US Companies and Global Speech

• 🇺🇸 US companies are disproportionately affected, becoming the EU's "global censorship police" due to expansive investigation powers, high compliance costs, and crippling fines.
• 🚨 German authorities are prosecuting a 14-year-old boy for an online post and launching criminal proceedings against US employees for refusing to share identity information.
• 🗣️ The EU's ambition is to establish itself as the global authority on speech regulation, creating a "digital curtain" where an "iron curtain" once stood.

Call to Action

• ✊ Price emphasizes that democracy requires free speech and urges a stand against this new wave of censorship.
• 📢 He calls out close allies and democracies for engaging in such practices, stressing the need to address these issues.