Last week, Technology Secretary Peter Kyle was the first to level this charge against the Reform UK leader. Farage was, he claimed, “on the side” of “people like Jimmy Savile” who want to abuse children online.
The lack of apology is, presumably, because it wasn’t an accident.
The Savile line wasn’t an off-the-cuff error, then, but an intentional strategy. Branding Nigel Farage a friend of paedophiles is now apparently the official message of His Majesty’s Government.
In 2022, Boris Johnson raised the failure of the Crown Prosecution Service – on Keir Starmer’s watch – to prosecute Savile (something the now Prime Minister apologised for on behalf of the organisation he led).
It seems he has changed his mind.
The truth, of course, is that Sunak very much does think such criminals should go to prison – making the poster what is traditionally known as “a lie”.
The furore over the Government’s shameful attack on Farage serves another purpose: distracting from the reasonable point the Reform leader made about the Online Safety Act.
The Act is already malfunctioning, only a few days in. Social media posts about violent protests, the realities of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and even a video of Katie Lam MP’s speech in parliament about the grooming scandal, have been blocked from view.
If you’re over 18, and have the time and energy, then you might choose to jump through the Act’s verification hoops.
square CHRIS STOKEL-WALKER I never thought I'd agree with Farage on anything – until now
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That’s only the start of the problem. There are legitimate reasons why someone might not wish to provide their personal photo ID to a big tech firm, or why someone escaping an abuser might be wary of linking their anonymous Reddit account to their personal identity.
Even on the less contentious topic of pornography, I’d be amazed if hostile state actors like Russia and China were not right now either setting up their own sites or hacking existing ones, in the hope of securing the blackmail prize of the verified browsing history and sexual proclivities of public officials, politicians, scientists in sensitive research fields and others.
But no. If you are concerned about freedom of expression, if you think it’s wrong to force abuse survivors to choose between risking their anonymity and accessing support communities, or if you think it nonsensical to give 16-year-olds the vote then ban them from watching parliamentary speeches, then you shouldn’t expect a fair hearing or even the respect you are due as a concerned citizen.
Mark Wallace is chief executive of Total Politics Group
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