Armed U.K. police arresting a comedian for tweets posted from America sends a chilling message about free speech. Just days ago, Irish comedian Graham Linehan, famed for Father Ted and The IT Crowd, was detained at a London airport over comments criticizing gender ideology made four months earlier, as Just the News reports. This isn’t just a British problem -- it’s a warning for Americans.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to probe European threats to global free speech, focusing on the EU’s Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, and the U.K.’s Online Safety Act. Republicans, led by chair Jim Jordan, spotlighted cases like Linehan’s arrest to argue these laws endanger American speech and business. Democrats, meanwhile, brushed off concerns and pointed fingers at supposed U.S. authoritarianism.
This summer, Judiciary Committee members traveled to Europe to assess its speech climate. They met with figures like Nigel Farage, U.K. Reform Party leader, who warned that European censorship could ensnare Americans. The Linehan arrest, involving five armed officers in a largely gun-free U.K., underscored Farage’s point with brutal clarity.
Linehan’s detention was a PR disaster for Democrats on the committee. Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin claimed “there’s no free speech crisis in Britain,” but the comedian’s arrest just 48 hours prior made that assertion laughable. Farage, a GOP witness, didn’t mince words, noting Linehan “isn’t even a British citizen.”
Farage warned, “this could happen to any American.” His testimony, laced with wit, parried Democratic attacks while highlighting the U.K.’s draconian Online Safety Act, passed by Conservatives. The act’s vague rules let authorities pounce on speech deemed offensive, like Linehan’s critique of gender ideology.
Democrats tried to redirect the hearing, accusing Republicans of hypocrisy. Rep. Hank Johnson hurled accusations at Farage, barely letting him respond, while Raskin called GOP concerns a defense of “autocratic regimes.” Their whataboutism -- pointing to U.S. policies like Trump’s funding cuts -- fell flat against Linehan’s handcuffs.
The hearing revealed a broader European censorship trend. Republicans cited cases like a Finnish parliamentarian prosecuted for five years over a Bible verse tweet. Farage quipped about “Voltairian principles” being forgotten, warning of a “digital curtain” replacing the old Iron Curtain.
Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Lorcán Price told lawmakers about a 14-year-old German boy facing prosecution for a “mild online post.” German authorities even targeted U.S. employees of an American company for not identifying the teen. This overreach, Price said, reflects the EU’s “Brussels effect” imposing global censorship.
The EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, Republicans argued, threaten American businesses with vague compliance demands. Morgan Reed of The App Association called it a “stacking effect” of regulations crushing small developers. Andy Biggs summed it up: Europe “regulates when it can’t innovate.”
Democrats’ lone witness, David Kaye, a former U.N. rapporteur, insisted the DSA and OSA “aren’t perfect” but empower users against Big Tech. His claim that these laws don’t establish censorship regimes ignores their chilling effect on speech. Kaye’s ignorance of a $787 million defamation suit by California’s governor against Fox News didn’t help his case.
Zoe Lofgren, a Silicon Valley Democrat, called the EU’s internet approach “generally wrongheaded” but quickly pivoted to GOP states as a bigger threat. Her deflection sidestepped the reality of Linehan’s arrest and other prosecutions. It’s hard to take “empower users” seriously when armed police detain comedians.
Farage, unfazed, kept the hearing lively, even joking about needing a “cup of coffee” amid liberal barrages. He called Linehan a “very brave man” for standing firm. His optimism, describing America’s free speech spirit as “joyous,” contrasted sharply with Europe’s grim censorship landscape.
The U.K.’s Online Safety Act also recently led to the 10-month imprisonment of Lucy Connolly for a deleted tweet about immigrants. Labeled as “inciting racial hatred,” her case shows how broadly authorities interpret speech crimes. Farage called such heavy-handed tactics “a very big deal” in a nation where guns are rare.
Republicans, like Ohio’s Jim Jordan, hammered Europe’s suppression of speech, citing cases like silent prayers near abortion clinics leading to arrests. Jordan warned that “today’s misinformation is tomorrow’s truth,” a jab at arbitrary censorship. The Biden administration’s own demand to remove a tweet by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. didn’t escape notice.
Europe’s censorship obsession, from Linehan to Connolly, signals a dangerous trend for Americans. Farage’s warning -- that any American could face similar treatment -- should jolt us awake. The First Amendment isn’t just a right; it’s a firewall against this creeping digital tyranny.
