Oh dear. Today sees the resumption of hearings by a joint committee of MPs and peers into the Online Safety Bill to update regulate of social media companies. And, with exquisite timing, one of those Silicon Valley giants has created something of an online storm by censoring one of the most respected backbenchers in the House of Commons.
The MP in question is David Davis – widely regarded across the House for his staunch support of civil liberties. Davis has been one of the most ardent critics of ‘vaccine passports,’ warning that they are unwarranted and unnecessary in the battle against Covid. Now a speech he made to the pressure group Big Brother Watch has been removed by YouTube on the grounds that it ‘contradicts expert consensus’ – whatever that means.
In the censored speech, Davis promoted vaccine benefits but warned that Covid IDs are ‘illiberal, demanding that we, an ordinary British citizen, produce our papers to do something which is normal in our daily lives.’
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