British nationals have been told that they could be banned or deported from the US as the free speech row rages on across the transatlantic.
US Congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, handed a letter to Keir Starmer slamming the state of UK “censorship”.
He added that his committee had subpoenaed American tech companies for communications with UK officials associated with suppression of speech on social media.
Last week, the US Congress approved the No Censors on our Shores Act 2025 with a whopping majority.
US Congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee handed a letter to Keir Starmer slamming the state of UK “censorship”
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The law proposes harsh punishments for foreign officials who appear to infringe American citizens’ First Amendment right to free speech – including deportations and the imposition of entry bans across America.
On the day that the British PM met with the US President, the Republicans published their letter online urging the UK to “rededicate itself to the fundamental principle of free expression”.
The letter cites the UK Online Safety Act as “paving the way for Ofcom…to regulate how social media platforms should handle disinformation and misinformation”, dubbing the power a “foreign censorship effort” which might impact American free speech.
Signing off as the “former Colonies”, the post’s caption made the plea to the Labour leader, saying: “Don’t censor our citizens or attack our companies.”
Barrister and legal counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom UK, Lorcán Price said: “Sir Keir Starmer said in Washington yesterday that free speech ‘will last for a very, very long time’ in Britain. But the view of many in power in America is that it’s dying or already dead.
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“This letter shows Jim Jordan, chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, is particularly concerned by the Online Safety Act, which, in its current form, severely threatens free speech online.
“By subpoenaing tech companies operating in the US for their communications with UK officials relating to the suppression of American speech, the door has been opened to any British officials engaged in censorship possibly being banned or deported from the US in the future.”
He added that the law signalled a “very powerful and stark warning” of the extent to which America sees “the dire state of free speech in the UK”.
“The No Censors on our Shores Act passed its initial stage this week. If it passes through Congress and becomes law, foreign officials engaged in the suppression of American speech can be banned from entering or deported from the US,” he continued.
The law’s passage followed Starmer’s visit to the White House to meet with Trump on Thursday to discuss the “special” relationship between the US and Britain.
Vice President JD Vance has appeared to come forward as a strong critic of free speech across Europe – slamming it as something which was “in retreat” across the continent
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Vice President JD Vance has appeared to come forward as a strong critic of free speech across Europe – slamming it as something which was “in retreat” across the continent.
Insisting that it affected US tech companies and, consequently, American citizens, he said: “We do have, of course, a special relationship with our friends in the UK and also our European allies, but we also know there have been infringements on free speech that affect not just the British – what the British do in their own country is up to them, but also affect American technology companies and by extension, American citizens.”
However, Starmer was quick to fire back, interjecting: “We’ve had free speech for a very long time, it will last a long time, and we are very proud of that.”
While he declared that his Government “wouldn’t want to reach across US citizens, and we don’t”, he reiterated: “In relation to free speech in the UK, I’m very proud of our history there.”
