Elon Musk's social media platform X has warned that the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA) risks 'seriously infringing' free speech, escalating a dispute over measures designed to protect children from harmful content. In a statement, X said the act's 'laudable' intentions were being overshadowed by aggressive enforcement by the communications watchdog, Ofcom.
X claimed that by passing the OSA, lawmakers made a 'conscientious decision' to increase censorship. 'Many are now concerned that a plan ostensibly intended to keep children safe is at risk of seriously infringing on the public’s right to free expression,' the platform said. It added that the threat of fines, which could reach 10% of global turnover for social media firms, might encourage censorship of legitimate content.
The UK government rejected the claims, calling them 'demonstrably false'. A spokesperson said the same law imposes clear duties on platforms to protect freedom of expression, with penalties for failing to do so. Ofcom also emphasised that the rules require tackling criminal content and preventing children from seeing harmful material, without restricting legal content for adults.
The act has faced renewed scrutiny after new restrictions on under-18s accessing pornography and other harmful content came into force on 25 July. Musk described the law as 'suppression of the people' and retweeted a petition for its repeal, which has over 450,000 signatures. Reform UK has also pledged to repeal the act, prompting a row with Technology Secretary Peter Kyle.
X criticised Ofcom's 'heavy-handed approach', including a planned national internet intelligence team to monitor social media for anti-migrant disorder. The platform said the proposal 'has set off alarm bells for free speech advocates' and called for a more balanced approach to protect individual liberties and innovation.
