The UK’s socialist Labour Party-controlled government has rejected calls from the British public to roll back its Orwelian censorship laws, instead doubling down on digital restrictions even as backlash intensifies at home and abroad.
Britain’s globalist government rejected widespread public demands to roll back its sweeping Online Safety Act (OSA).
More than 160,000 Britons signed a petition urging Parliament to repeal the Act, a law critics warn has rapidly evolved from a child-protection measure into one of the most aggressive censorship systems in the democratic world.
Instead of reconsidering, MPs used the debate to push for even stricter controls on VPNs, age-verification tools, encrypted messaging platforms, and AI chatbots.
The debate in a sparsely attended Westminster Hall session revealed a stark divide as the public demands digital freedom, and the government presses for deeper surveillance and expanded authority.
Law Fueled a 700% Surge in VPN Use
Since the OSA took effect, VPN usage across the UK has skyrocketed by 700%, as citizens turned to privacy tools to escape the law’s sweeping content restrictions.
That explosion in VPN adoption prompted MPs to suggest regulating the tools outright, a proposal that has alarmed civil liberties groups, who say the government is inching toward full control over online access.
Critics argue that the OSA’s broad and vague provisions have created a de facto censorship regime, forcing lawful political discussions, hobby forums, and independent message boards offline due to burdensome compliance demands from Ofcom.
One administrator of a Sunderland AFC fan forum nearly shut the site down entirely after struggling to navigate the regulator’s requirements, an example now cited widely by OSA critics as evidence that the law is crushing small platforms while tech giants absorb the compliance costs with ease.
Government Targets AI Chatbots, Encryption, and Online Speech
MPs also signaled an aggressive expansion of the Act’s scope.
Several lawmakers argued that AI systems should face rapid regulation, with some warning that chatbots could “manipulate” children.
Calls to police generative AI, monitor chatbot interactions, and broaden age-verification requirements confirm that ministers intend to widen the Act’s reach far beyond its original purpose.
This expansion places encrypted messaging, AI development, and privacy tools at the center of the government’s next wave of regulation, raising new concerns that the OSA will evolve into a system capable of monitoring or restricting private digital communications.
In one of the debate’s clearest illustrations of the government’s posture, MP Lizzi Collinge argued that the law’s censorship powers were no different from “safety features,” insisting that online spaces require supervised controls comparable to physical environments.
Civil liberties advocates say the framing is deeply misleading because the OSA empowers the government to remove legal content, suppress dissenting views, and strong-arm private companies into enforcing government-approved speech standards.
Critics Warn the OSA Reflects a Global Trend Toward State-Controlled Digital Spaces
Analysts note that the OSA mirrors historical censorship regimes under the guise of public protection, from 17th-century licensing laws to modern authoritarian internet controls.
The difference, they warn, is that the OSA is advancing under democratic branding, even as its impact aligns with surveillance systems long associated with nondemocratic states.
The debate also exposed a growing international rift.
Vice President J.D. Vance has openly criticized Britain’s push to police online speech and undermine encryption, warning that the UK risks setting a dangerous global precedent for digital suppression.
Public Pushback Growing as Parliament Closes Ranks
Downing Street appears committed to expanding the law anyway, signaling that VPN tracking, restrictions on encrypted platforms, and AI oversight will be central pillars of upcoming regulatory frameworks.
Ofcom has already begun researching VPN use, and age-verification companies are lobbying for deeper involvement.
Despite public resistance, Parliament has shown no interest in curbing its own authority.
The OSA remains intact and expanding, a law critics say erodes privacy, chills free expression, and opens the door to an unprecedented level of state involvement in everyday digital life, all under the banner of “safety.”
The public revolt is still growing.
But for now, the government has made its position clear: the censorship regime stays.
READ MORE – Trump Halts Major $41 Billion Tech Deal with UK Government Over Censorship Laws
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