As the UK’s Labour government sends the country deeper and deeper into censorship, Elon Musk is set to be summoned by British MPs as part of a parliamentary investigation into the role of social media in fueling alleged “disinformation” during this summer’s riots.
This move, part of a parliamentary inquiry into social media and generative AI, has raised alarm among free speech advocates who fear it is yet another government overreach to control public discourse.
The inquiry is set to focus on “misleading and harmful” content online, with senior executives from Meta and TikTok also expected to be grilled. Critics, however, view the effort as a continuation of the government’s authoritarian push to censor dissenting opinions under the guise of tackling misinformation. The hearings will coincide with the implementation of the UK’s controversial Online Safety Act, a drastic piece of legislation widely criticized for its potential to silence political dissent and controversial viewpoints.
Musk responded to the UK’s efforts by saying that lawmakers there should be “summoned to the United States of America to explain their censorship and threats to American citizens.”
