this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2025
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From age and ID restrictions on the Internet, to charging rappers with “terrorism,” the U.K. is demolishing the most basic civil liberties. If we let them, U.S. leaders may be close behind.

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[–] Jhex@lemmy.world 8 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (2 children)

Could? go publicly criticize the Pedo in chief and watch what happens

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

The idea that America EVER had free fucking speech is propaganda. There is no such thing, not in the US and not anywhere. Nations have to control their propaganda or they lose their power. Want an example? Just log into your favorite feed-site in another country and look how radically different every post, every comment and every news story is. Our perspective in the US is as cultivated as it is anywhere else.

The only way we would ever have truly free speech in any capacity would be if we had a borderless world, and I don't see that happening as long as we have money and classes.

Short of some alien species descending and absorbing everyone into a hive-mind, this isn't going to change for a thousand years at least.

[–] pirate2377@lemmy.zip 5 points 16 hours ago

America is already well on its way to lose free speech as well. We have a secret police called "ICE" now, so it's only a matter of time unless the "resistance democrats" finally do their fucking job

[–] AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works 12 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I think it's odd (and pretty terrifying) the U.K. and U.S. have been on such similar and almost coordinated authoritarian tracks over the last few years. It started with a lot of gradual steps and more recently they seem to be ramping things up (which also seems pretty common for authoritarianism/by the time most people notice something weird is happening it's too late).

Both ramping up A.I. to spy on, and control/micromanage their own civilians while refusing regulations or any public accountability for the A.I. they're developing.

April 2024: U.S., U.K. Announce Partnership to Safety Test AI Models

Feb 2025: UK and US refuse to sign international AI declaration

May 2025: Brexit’s Failures Could Foreshadow Trump’s. Just Not in the Way You Might Think.

[–] Part4@infosec.pub 5 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

We have been on the same track in many respects since Reagan/Thatcher.

[–] betanumerus@lemmy.ca 2 points 16 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

So did people in the 80's (before internet) have more free speech than now, or less?

Can't anyone just build their own website and "free speech" all they want?

Private media owners always had control over their property, that isn't new.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Britain never had free speech and always have been a absolute nanny state. It's a prime example that government overreach does not result in any safety improvements.

[–] nlgranger@lemmy.world 3 points 15 hours ago

Many people seem to ignore that british legislation is choke full of gag laws and restrictions on pretty fundamental rights.

[–] Zexks@lemmy.world 1 points 16 hours ago

Yeah why shoild they be able to tell me to wear seatbelts.

[–] Corelli_III@midwest.social 89 points 1 day ago (2 children)

"and america could be next!" they literally have domestic concentration camps in america there is no freedom there

[–] ameancow@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Our speech has been controlled here since media's inception. We just live in the world of manufactured perception that because we can argue on the internet or have marches that somehow speech and propaganda isn't a tightly-controlled system.

You don't NEED to jail critics to have control over your country's speech, you just need to control the narratives via news outlets, reddit posts, newspapers, facebook "friends" and popular television fiction shows.

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[–] noobdoomguy8658@feddit.org 119 points 2 days ago (27 children)

Just what the fuck is this timeline? I was born in Russia and spent a good chunk of my life basically idolizing USA, UK, EU, other European countries, English-first countries, etc.

By the time I had the language and professional skills to try and migrate into a probably really good life, suddenly there's a rise of authoritarianism, loss of privacy, rollback to the political right and intolerance and hatred and whatever.

There's still a long way for these nations to go before things are as bad as here, but the differences still are dwindling at an alarming rate and I often find myself wondering if it's gonna be worth the effort if I want to eventually move to someplace that still respects privacy and freedom and is sensible about the Internet and digital technologies.

There's still a lot of perks from knowing English as well as I do, but at this point, I think I'd have to learn German or Swedish or some other northern EU language if I ever make up my mind.

And by the time I'm ready, these countries will roll out some bullshit, too, right?

And then there's Visa and MasterCard telling you what you can and can't purchase because some conservative cesspool wrote some emails - but gamers' emails are ignored...

It's all so demoralising. I miss looking forward to the future with hope and excitement for things.

[–] rozodru@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago (2 children)

what's happening is our current system right now is in the process of failing. it's dying, it didn't work and it can no longer sustain itself. Someone once said something along the lines of "When the current system fails, the next one will consist of whatever ideas are left"

So what ideas are left? the ideas of the far right, just like far right ideas are ALWAYS left when a system is about to die. So all these governments, all these wealthy individuals, all these people that have the most to gain are are going start backing the new up coming system. We're seeing it in real time.

But this has happened time and time again. We're a collectively dumb species and love watching repeats. it's always the same song and dance "well lets go this way, sure it didn't work out last time but I don't believe it'll happen to us THIS time".

So it's not so much "what the fuck is this timeline" but rather "well it's our generations turn for bullshit". And it always skips a generation. So the boomers didn't experience it, but their parents did, and now it's our turn. Hopefully our children or our Kids children will be smarter than boomers but...we as humans sure do love watching reruns.

[–] baines@lemmy.cafe 1 points 18 hours ago

it is a simple as the rich thinking they no longer need plebs soon

it is no coincidence this is happening during the blown up of AI

i believe that "far-right" sentiments are a natural defense mechanism against a perceived threat.

if your tribe is in danger, you start kicking the foreigners out, you start going back culturally to what you perceive as "safe",

it's literally like if a windows computer fails to boot properly 3 times in a row, it re-boots into "safe mode", which is a locked-down, dumbed-down, simplified version of the actual os. we are the computer. if people experience hardships too often throughout their daily lifes, they start "dumbing down" and "rebooting into safe mode". just that that safe mode causes more hardships for everyone else. and that's where we're at right now.

[–] rottingleaf@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago (2 children)

As someone still in Russia, a bit of the same.

That is, I expected things to get worse, but not "avalanche of shit, cockroaches and rat bones" levels of worse.

Except the idolization part started receding much earlier, when I actually learned English well enough to understand that these are very intolerant societies. Say, where in Russia people disagreeing with you on some key matters would look at you like a fool or just decide to stop this conversation so that neither of you would offend the other, in English-speaking countries, it seems, there was simply no way to survive outside of some echo chamber and God forbid you find none to fit into. But that was like 10-15 years ago, now, of course, in Russia you can get jailed or strongly fined for words.

But I thought there's some deeper wisdom and in those harsher societies people are also somehow better capable to maintain their common freedom and dignity yadda-yadda. In fact that's not what I see.

As a bit of gloating - at least now the "why are you not all revolting against Putin" Western types can be answered with their own regrettable example instead of common sense and logic, these are fine, but an example is more efficient.

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[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 19 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And then there’s Visa and MasterCard telling you what you can and can’t purchase because some conservative cesspool wrote some emails

They didn't just write emails, they actually picked up the phone and called them, non stop. They made it into a problem that couldn't be ignored. Gamers haven't done that, unfortunately.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There's always Canada, a similarly large yet sparsely populated land with awful winters and bad food, you'll fit right in.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Excuse me, bad food? I'll have you know we have at least 10 flavors of poutine truck at every public event

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[–] Deflated0ne@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Pretty much every company that matters decided to go full 1984 censorship and surveillance all at the same time. And the governments are more than happy to play along. UK, US, etc. Pretty much all of "the west"

[–] Tryenjer@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

They are paving the way for feudalism to replace liberal democracies,

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 7 points 1 day ago

Big time.

And thanks for the link! learned a new philosophy tag for the silicon-valley-government-buying-neo-nazi-death-cult.

🌠the more you know (about the enemy) and all that. . .

[–] haloduder@thelemmy.club 0 points 16 hours ago

Hopefully we'll see more fediverse instances that allow freedom of speech.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 day ago (9 children)

How many whistleblowers and reporters did Bush and Obama charge with the Espionage Act?

[–] WiseScorpio@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

What is this 'could be' business?

[–] ordnance_qf_17_pounder@reddthat.com 31 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Hopefully this doesn't devolve into another USA vs UK shit flinging contest. Authoritarianism is on the rise everywhere, Trump and Starmer are both utilising state power to crack down on dissent and opposition. Those of us who are opposed to this shit are on the same side.

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

100%.

Doesn't matter the country.

Do you work for a living?

Do you want to live without fear of governments and corporations breathing down your neck waiting to make an example of you or profit from you?

...Then we should be on the same side. Simple as.

Good-natured jabs aside, of course. ;) Love ya, Brits. <3

[–] mriswith@lemmy.world 43 points 2 days ago

That was lost a while ago, but it's nice more people are noticing that it's getting worse.

[–] Mniot@programming.dev 160 points 2 days ago (16 children)

I think the US will be fine as long as we don't repeatedly elect some kind of cabal of pedophile authoritarians.

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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 24 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Uh, America had free speech? First I'm hearing about it.

[–] Buffalox@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

With a president meddling in both universities and media free speech, there is no way to seriously say USA has free speech.
But even before these issues freedom of speech was very challenged in USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Press_Freedom_Index

[–] bobs_monkey@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 day ago

If you're wealthy enough, you can do whatever you want.

Freedom™

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[–] Greyghoster@aussie.zone 86 points 2 days ago

The US is already well down the path with masked men kidnapping people on the street, holding them without any contact, defunding all sorts of media and billionaires suppressing all sorts off stuff in their media outlets.

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