UK PM Says Free Speech Must Be Protected, But There Is A Limit

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared on Thursday that while the United Kingdom "fiercely" safeguards free speech, there exists a boundary when such freedom is exploited to cause genuine harm to children and vulnerable individuals.

"Free speech is one of the founding values of the United Kingdom, and we protect it jealously and fiercely and always will," Starmer stated during a press conference alongside U.S. President Donald Trump.

"I draw a limit between free speech and the speech of those that want to peddle paedophilia and suicide (on) social media to children," he emphasized.

"Therefore I'm all for free speech, but I'm also for protecting children from things that will harm them."

Britain's recently implemented Online Safety Law mandates social media companies to remove illegal content from their platforms.

For instance, encouraging self-harm has been classified as a criminal offense to ensure it falls under the law's jurisdiction.

A previous attempt by the former government to prohibit content deemed "harmful but legal" was abandoned due to concerns about potentially restricting free expression.

Nevertheless, police actions regarding social media posts, such as the arrest of Irish comedian Graham Linehan earlier this month for publishing comments about transgender issues on X, have raised questions about the application of existing laws in online spaces.

The police justified Linehan's arrest but acknowledged that their officers were in an "impossible position" when mediating between free speech rights and potentially criminal content.