Labour plans to censor social media branded 'Soviet-esque' by free speech campaigner: 'Most authoritarian Government!'

The deputy leader of the party branded social media platform X as 'toxic'

Connie Shaw has launched a scathing attack on Britain's "authoritarian" Labour Government over plans to censor social media ahead of the next general election.

Speaking to GB News, the External Affairs Officer at the Free Speech Union branded the move "Soviet-esque".

Labour's deputy leader has proposed tighter restrictions on social media platforms during general elections, arguing they should face rules similar to broadcasters.

Lucy Powell has argued that social media platforms should be subject to the same legal duties as television broadcasters to tackle misinformation.

Reacting to the move, Ms Shaw told GB News that Sir Keir Starmer's Government has become the "most authoritarian Government in living memory".

She said: "It's completely in line with how Labour has been for the last two years, and everything that they're trying to do. They simply cannot handle the fact that platforms like X which Lucy Powell has branded as toxic.

"We know that Labour MPs hate X because they can't deal with the fact that the British public actually are very angry about what they're seeing, the realities of what Britain has become.

"They're only able to see some of these things because of independent commentary on social media, and so it's not surprising at all that this is what Lucy Powell is talking about."

Ms Shaw noted that Ms Powell is also a "close ally" of the country's next likely Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.

She explained: "She may well be our next Deputy Prime Minister. I think we need to look back and remember that when Andy Burnham won the by-election in Makerfield, in his victory speech the next day he said one of the most important things about the win last night is that he had prevented Britain from choosing another path towards and divisiveness.

"And this whole word of 'divisive' also appears many times in this Green Paper that the Government has published about trying to force social media companies to push trusted news sources to the top of algorithms and suppressing independent commentators who spread myths and disinformation which help spread divisive narratives from being able to be seen and accessible on social media. ."

Ms Shaw argued that the move by the Government is "authoritarian" on Britons.

She told GB News: "It's so authoritarian. I think that sometimes people who campaign for free speech and these issues that we talk about, people on the left often say that this is confected right-wing outrage.

"But actually, the last couple of days have really reminded me and I think many of my colleagues that when we get worried that we're too outraged about something, actually, no, we're often not outraged enough.

"This is the most authoritarian Government we have seen in living memory. This is Soviet-esque stuff that is going on here and everyone needs to know what this Government is trying to do."

The free speech campaigner warned that censorship may only "get worse" if Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister.

Ms Shaw cautioned: "When people talk about two-tier justice and authoritarian-ness under Keir Starmer, I think it's only going to get worse under Andy Burnham.

"We may think that it's better for free speech that Keir Starmer is going, but I think everyone needs to be alarmed about what is going on with this incoming Prime Minister."

Discussing the plans, Ms Powell told LBC: "We absolutely need to strengthen regulation in the social media place, especially when it’s election time.

"We’ve got an elections bill going through the House of Commons at the moment; to strengthen that bill, so that social media comes under the same requirements during an election period that our broadcasters do."