Elon Musk’s X has openly condemned Britain’s new Online Safety Act, warning that its sweeping enforcement threatens free speech and risks fostering an online environment of excessive censorship.
The platform’s criticism adds to growing public and political backlash against the law, which was introduced to curb harmful online content and protect minors.
The Online Safety Act, enacted last year and gradually being rolled out in 2025, compels social media giants like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and X to crack down on illegal content and implement stricter protections for children online. Sites hosting pornography are also required to verify user age, a move that has stirred significant privacy concerns.
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In a statement on Friday, X said the law’s “laudable intentions were at risk of being overshadowed by the breadth of its regulatory reach.” The company, which has already implemented age verification measures in line with the law, warned that the act’s vague boundaries and tight deadlines were encouraging platforms to over-police content for fear of regulatory penalties.
“When lawmakers approved these measures, they made a conscientious decision to increase censorship in the name of ‘online safety’. It is fair to ask if UK citizens were equally aware of the trade-off being made,” the company said.
A key element of the law’s implementation involves oversight by media regulator Ofcom, which has already launched formal investigations into four unnamed companies operating 34 pornography websites to assess compliance. These probes come as users voice mounting frustration over intrusive age verification processes that require personal data uploads—measures seen by many as a disproportionate infringement on digital rights.
That sentiment is spreading fast. Over 468,000 people have signed a petition calling for the repeal of the law. Critics, including content creators and free speech groups, argue the law has already gone too far, resulting in the removal of legal content in efforts to avoid potential violations. They contend the law’s structure places disproportionate power in the hands of regulators and platforms, effectively chilling lawful expression online.
Despite the uproar, the UK government has stood its ground. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle defended the law earlier this week, saying those seeking to overturn it were “on the side of predators.” His comments were widely criticized as inflammatory and dismissive of legitimate concerns about civil liberties and overreach.
Ofcom, for its part, has vowed to enforce the law “proportionately,” but its investigations into pornography sites—alongside the possibility of steep fines for violators—signal an aggressive posture that platforms like X say risks harming the very liberties the UK purports to uphold. X stressed the need for a “balanced approach” that simultaneously safeguards children, encourages innovation, and protects individual freedom.
“Significant changes must take place to achieve these objectives in the UK,” the company said.
The UK joins a growing list of countries attempting to regulate online spaces more tightly, citing child safety and national security. But as tech companies like X push back, the debate is increasingly framed as a battle over who decides what speech is permissible—and whether security should come at the cost of free expression in the digital age.