Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch

Do the Conservatives really care about free speech?

From our UK edition

The Conservative Party Chair and Minister without Portfolio, Oliver Dowden, made headlines on Tuesday after a speech at the Washington-based Conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation. In his speech Dowden lambasted woke ideology, berated cancel culture and even argued that these concepts constitute a new brand of modern Maoism. Despite this sabre rattling, it is clear that this is not an administration that cares about free speech. While Dowden uses the language of cancel culture to defend a free society, the government is fast finalising plans for a censor’s charter which Dowden himself helped craft during his time as Culture Secretary.

The UK risks becoming a world leader in online censorship

From our UK edition

The emergence of a free and open internet was one of the greatest achievements of liberal democracies. The creation of a decentralised web allowed ordinary citizens in countries all over the world to share and receive information. Now, fears about crime and moral panics about disinformation mean that many liberal democracies are making the web a smaller place for everyone. On Wednesday, the Government published its Online Safety Bill, a piece of legislation designed to make the UK ‘the safest place in the world to go online, and the best place to start and grow a digital business.’ Omitted from this description is that the proposed Bill would also make the UK a world leader amongst democracies when it comes to censorship and state control.