Tag Archives: Transatlantic

Transatlantic Social Media Clash: Impact of UK Online Safety Laws on Internet Safety

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The UK’s new online safety laws are generating considerable attention. As worries intensify about the accessibility of harmful online content, regulations have been instituted to hold social media platforms accountable.

However, just days after their implementation, novel strategies for ensuring children’s safety online have sparked discussions in both the UK and the US.

Recently, Nigel Farage, leader of the Populist Reformed British Party, found himself in a heated exchange with the government’s Minister of Labour after announcing his intent to repeal the law.

In parallel, Republicans convened with British lawmakers and the communications regulator Ofcom. The ramifications of the new law are also keenly observed in Australia, where plans are afoot to prohibit social media usage for those under 16.

Experts note that the law embodies a tension between swiftly eliminating harmful content and preserving freedom of speech.

Senior Reformer Zia Yusuf stated:

Responding to criticisms of UK legislation, technical secretary Peter Kyle remarked, “If individuals like Jimmy Saville were alive today, they would still commit crimes online, and Nigel Farage claims to be on their side.”

Kyle referred to measures in the law that would help shield children from grooming via messaging apps. Farage condemned the technical secretary’s comments as “unpleasant” and demanded an apology, which is unlikely to be forthcoming.

“It’s below the belt to suggest they’ll do anything to assist individuals like Jimmy Saville while causing harm,” Farage added.

The UK’s rights are not the only concerns raised about the law. US Vice President JD Vance claimed that freedom of speech in the UK is “retreating.” Last week, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, who criticized the legislation, led a group of US lawmakers in discussions with Kyle and Ofcom regarding the law.

Jordan labeled the law as “UK online censorship legislation” and criticized Ofcom for imposing regulations that “target” and “harass” American companies. A bipartisan delegation also visited Brussels to explore the Digital Services Act, the EU’s counterpart to the online safety law.

Scott Fitzgerald, a Republican member of the delegation, noted the White House would be keen to hear the group’s findings.

Worries from the Trump administration have even led to threats against OFCOM and EU personnel concerning visa restrictions. In May, the State Department announced it would block entry to the US for “foreigners censoring Americans.” Ofcom has expressed a desire for “clarity” regarding planned visa restrictions.

The intersection of free speech concerns with economic interests is notable. Major tech platforms including Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and X are all based in the US and may face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue for violations. For Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, this could result in fines reaching $16 billion (£11 billion).

On Friday, X, the social media platform owned by self-proclaimed free speech advocate Elon Musk, issued a statement opposing the law, warning that it could “seriously infringe” on free speech.

Signs of public backlash are evident in the UK. A petition calling for the law’s repeal has garnered over 480,000 signatures, making it eligible for consideration in Congress, and was shared on social media by far-right activist Tommy Robinson.

Tim Bale, a political professor at Queen Mary University in London, is skeptical about the law being a major voting issue.

“No petition or protest has significant traction for most people. While this resonates strongly with those online—on both the right and left—it won’t sway a large portion of the general populace,” he said.

According to a recent Ipsos Mori poll, three out of four UK parents are worried about their children’s online activities.

Beavan Kidron, a British fellow and prominent advocate for online child safety, shared with the Guardian that he is “more than willing to engage Nigel Farage and his colleagues on this issue.”

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“If companies focus on targeting algorithms toward children, why would reforms place them in the hands of Big Tech?”

The UK’s new Under-18 guidelines, which prompted the latest legislation, mandate age verification on adult sites to prevent underage access. However, there are also measures to protect children from content that endorses suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders, as well as curtail the circulation of materials that incite hatred or promote harmful substances and dangerous challenges.

Some content falls within age appropriateness to avoid being flagged as violating these regulations. In an article by the Daily Telegraph, Farage alleged that footage of anti-immigrant protests was not only “censored” but also related to the Rotherham Grooming Gang scandal.

These instances were observed on X, which flagged a speech by Conservative MP Katie Lamb regarding the UK’s child grooming scandal. The content was labeled with a notice stating, “local laws temporarily restrict access to this content until X verifies the user’s age.” The Guardian could not access the Age Verification Service on X, suggesting that, until age checks are fully operational, the platform defaults many users to a child-friendly experience.

X was contacted for commentary regarding age checks.

On Reddit, the Alcohol Abuse Forum and the Pet Care subforum will implement age checks before granting access. A Reddit spokesperson confirmed that this age check is enforced under the online safety law to limit content that is illegal or harmful to users under the age of 18.

Big Brother Watch, an organization focused on civil liberties and privacy, noted that examples from Reddit and X exemplify the overreach of new legislation.

An Ofcom representative stated that the law aims to protect children from harmful and criminal content while simultaneously safeguarding free speech. “There is no necessity to limit legal content accessible to adult users.”

Mark Jones, a partner at London-based law firm Payne Hicks Beach, cautioned that social media platforms might overly censor legitimate content due to compliance concerns, jeopardizing their obligations to remove illegal material or content detrimental to children.

He added that the regulations surrounding Ofcom’s content handling are likely to manifest as actionable and enforceable due to the pressure to quickly address harmful content while respecting freedom of speech principles.

“To effectively curb the spread of harmful or illegal content, decisions must be made promptly; however, the urgency can lead to incorrect choices. Such is the reality we face.

The latest initiatives from the online safety law are only the beginning.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Warning from ThinkTank: UK must ease AI regulations or face strain on transatlantic relations

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According to Tony Blair’s ThinkTank, the UK should consider relaxing copyright laws to allow artificial intelligence companies to create innovative products.

The Tony Blair Institute, with ties to the US, is set to introduce copyright measures that could lead to tariffs on UK goods. Despite geopolitical concerns, TBI states that caution is necessary.

The ThinkTank warns that requiring licenses for UK content used in AI models may drive development to regions with less stringent copyright laws. Implementing strict licensing models could also involve restricting access to models trained with such content, including US-owned AI systems.

In a newly released report, TBI expresses support for the government’s proposal to allow AI companies to train models with copyrighted materials, unless creatives choose to opt out. TBI suggests that overly strict AI regulations, as suggested by the Trump administration, could hinder economic and national security interests in the AI race.

The report emphasizes the need for collaboration between rights holders, policymakers, and AI developers to balance creativity and innovation in the AI space.

A more stringent copyright approach than that of the EU, Singapore, or Japan could drive AI developers away from the UK, according to TBI.

The report also advocates for the establishment of an AI and creative industries center to foster collaboration between technology and creative sectors.

Beeban Kidron, a vocal opponent of the government’s AI proposal, criticizes the notion that the UK should become an AI hub for Silicon Valley, calling it a bleak vision for Britain.

Kidron raises concerns about potential conflict of interest due to TBI receiving donations from US tech billionaire Larry Ellison. TBI asserts its intellectual independence over policy work despite the funding.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Transatlantic Speed Record Remains Unbroken for 50 Years: Darkness Prevails in the Skies | Air Transportation

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ohOn September 1, 1974, two men made the fastest trip ever between New York and London. Traveling three times the speed of sound and taking less than two hours, this incredible journey set a record that still stands 50 years later.

Even the mighty Concorde, which set the record for the fastest commercial transatlantic flight in 1996, was almost an hour late.

The US Air Force Lockheed Blackbird SR-71 jet, with a crew of two – pilot James Sullivan and reconnaissance systems operator Noel Widdifield – completed the flight between the two cities in one hour, 54 minutes and 56 seconds, before landing in triumph to a great welcome at the Farnborough Air Show in Hampshire.

Widdifield, now 83, divides his time between Virginia and Florida in the US. “In some ways it was a normal flight for us,” he said, reflecting on that momentous day. “There was nothing unusual about the flight or the way we flew the plane, but in July 1974 we were told we were going to attempt the world record for flying from New York to London, which had previously been held by a Royal Navy pilot. There was a lot of media interest.”

It wasn’t just the Air Force’s prestige that was at stake. America was facing an international public relations crisis. Just three weeks earlier, disgraced President Richard Nixon had resigned after the Watergate scandal and Gerald Ford had taken over the White House. The country was still reeling from its disastrous involvement in the Vietnam War. The country needed something to cheer about.

There were other schemes as well. Widdifield observer“Although I didn’t know anything about it at the time, behind the scenes, negotiations were taking place between the US and the UK to deploy Blackbird SR-71s on British soil.




Widdifield flew B-52 bombers before joining the Blackbird SR-71 program. Photo: Noel Widdifield

“There were fears in the UK that this move might cause a lot of backlash, especially in the Middle East. But after we broke the record and flew into the Farnborough Air Show, that seemed to be the clincher and the UK allowed the SR-71 to be parked.”

Widdifield was 33 when he made this historic flight. He originally wanted to be a train driver, but after seeing U.S. Air Force jets flying low over his house at age 12, he decided to become a pilot.

After training and flying B-52 bombers, Widdifield served in the Blackbird SR-71 program at Beale Air Force Base in California from 1971 to 1975, after which he retired from flying to serve in the U.S. space program until 1982.

Piloting a Blackbird was akin to being an astronaut: The crew wore space suits and flew at an altitude of 80,000 feet (most commercial airliners top out at 42,000 feet). “It was pitch black up there,” Widdifield said. “You could see the stars and, depending on the time of day, the moon or the sun.”

Their plane took off from Beale and had to fly along the coast to New York to avoid creating a sonic boom over populated areas and causing significant damage to buildings. High above the city was an invisible “gate” where the journey would begin. Reaching a speed of Mach 3.2 (three times the speed of sound, about 2,455 miles per hour), the Blackbird crashed through the gate and the record attempt began.

The plane had to refuel twice: once upon takeoff, once when it docked with a tanker over California to top off, and once en route to near Greenland.

In one incident that looked terrifying from the outside but was handled with cool by the crew, the Blackbird suddenly began to “yaw,” or move quickly from side to side, after losing thrust.

Because the Blackbird took in air from the front to provide thrust for the engines, the air intake mechanisms would often become misaligned, causing a momentary, significant loss of power in one engine.

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Widdifield and Sullivan stand in front of a Blackbird SR-71. Photo: Noel Widdifield

“The automatic restart system was activated, the misaligned cones were corrected and the engine was restarted,” Widdifield said. “We had no real concerns other than what this would do to our record speed run.”


The plane then flew through the London “gates” without incident, and the Blackbird landed at Farnborough, where a large crowd waited and a press conference was held, during which Widdifield and Sullivan were on the phone with the new president. “It got huge international coverage for the next year,” says Widdifield, who has six scrapbooks of the clippings. “But what Jim and I always tried to emphasize was that although it was just the two of us who got the glory, there was a huge team behind every flight.

“When you take into account the support staff, the administrative staff and all the people who work to get us flying, that’s 1,000 people. They deserve as much credit as Jim and I do.”

Widdifield, who has been married to his wife Ann for 63 years and has two children, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren, is mourning the loss of his co-pilot, Jim Sullivan, who died in 2021, and the Blackbird SR-71 itself, which was officially retired in 1998.

He said: “Jim and I kept in touch but then lived far apart so we only saw each other a few times at SR-71 reunions.

“Obviously I was sad when the SR-71 program ended. So am I surprised that no one has beaten our record in 50 years? No, because no aircraft has been built since then that could break that record.”

Source: www.theguardian.com