Nigel Farage invited to free speech hearing as concerns grow in the US

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been invited to a hearing on Capitol Hill next month to discuss overseas technology laws. Republican Jim Jordan, who chairs the US House of Representatives' judiciary committee, is said to have made the invitation.

The hearing is entitled Europe's Threat to American Speech and Innovation and is due to take place on Wednesday (September 3). The committee said the hearing will discuss how Britain's Online Safety Act and the European Union's Digital Services Act threaten the right of US citizens to "speak freely" online in the United States.

It will also "explain" how the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act and the EU's Digital Markets Act "target" US companies and "hurt" innovation.

Under rules which came into effect on July 25, online platforms must take steps to prevent children from accessing harmful content such as pornography or material encouraging suicide.

This includes a new duty for online providers to reduce the risk of users encountering illegal content and for age verification measures in the UK to access pornographic content.

Mr Farage has said the legislation threatens freedom of speech and open debate. Earlier this month, Reform UK's leader demanded an apology after Technology Secretary Peter Kyle claimed that if paedophile Jimmy Savile were alive today he would perpetrate his crimes online - and in his criticism of the legislation, Mr Farage was suggesting he is on their side.

Labour MP Jess Phillips, minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, waded into the row and also appeared to accuse Mr Farage of being more concerned about "clicks for his monetised social media accounts" than children's safety online.

US President Donald Trump has criticised governments' bids to regulate the internet. He said earlier this week: "As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies.

"Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation, and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology."

Mr Farage has vowed to repeal the Online Safety Act if Reform UK were to win the next general election. He claimed the legislation was altering people's social media feeds and was an example of over-reach by government.

He said: "Millions of people have noticed what they're getting on their feeds is different to what it was just last week. It begins to look as though state suppression of genuine free speech may be upon us already."

Elon Musk's X has also said the legislation threatens free speech and accused UK regulators of being "heavy-handed". The law was passed in 2023 under the previous Conservative Government and is being introduced in phases.

The Government has said it is "demonstrably false" that the Online Safety Act compromises free speech.

It said that on top of legal duties to keep children safe, the same law places "clear and unequivocal" duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression.

A Government spokesperson said earlier this month: "Failure to meet either obligation can lead to severe penalties, including fines of up to 10% of global revenue or £18million, whichever is greater.

"The Act is not designed to censor political debate and does not require platforms to age gate any content other than those which present the most serious risks to children such as pornography or suicide and self-harm content."