OhGee

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

Wildlife presenter and FSU member Anneka Svenska was told to take a “thinking skills course”, accept a police record or face arrest after two police officers turned up at her door.

Ms Svenska was left “shaking” when officers appeared at her home in Kent to inform her that she was the subject of a complaint from MBR Acres — the only UK site that breeds dogs for animal testing — after she posted a video online in January criticising the way the beagle testing site disposes of dead animals.

The company accused her of “making false allegations”.

Police alleged that she had committed an offence under Section 179 of the Online Safety Act. Introduced by the last Conservative government, the provision makes it an offence, punishable by up to 51 weeks in prison, to knowingly spread false information likely to cause harm.

The FSU warned while the legislation was going through Parliament that it could be weaponised in precisely this way to silence legitimate political speech.

We were right.

Ms Svenska sought legal advice and refused to accept the “community resolution”, which would have required her to complete two online thinking skills courses within two weeks and would have seen her recorded as an “offender”, potentially appearing on a DBS check.

In the end, the police dropped the case and no further action was taken.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms Svenska said: “I was definitely intimidated by the police; I was actually shaking underneath. This, to me, was an absolute violation.”

Lord Young of Acton, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “The Online Safety Act was proposed as a way of keeping children safe online.

“Instead, overzealous police officers are using it to spare large companies the blushes of criticism from campaigners. Thankfully, Anneka had the good sense to reject this community disposal.

“Otherwise, she would have been saddled with this record for doing nothing more than exercising her democratic rights to free speech.”

Read more below and watch our video 👇

[AI Notkilleveryoneism Memes ⏸️ @AISafetyMemes]

"We've built this complex world over the internet, which is all run by software, but software that has holes."

"Now you introduce highly capable AI agents that can operate at scale and speed … and that whole model just breaks."
https://t.co/W5RtmxmB3c

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@gc22gc

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@MarcNixon24 UK solution:
“Two vans used in fly-tipping offences, seized by Bradford Council have now been crushed.”

https://t.co/gYhVuf4pSz

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@bears_aware UK solution:
“Crushing of vehicle used for fly tipping by Central Bedfordshire Council”

https://t.co/8yqFIvx8B5

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@martyrmade Sadly he’s always been like this.

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@jonkay LOL

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@therealmrbench Leeds, UK: “An Armley resident has been sentenced to a 15-month custodial sentence after pleading guilty to six counts of fly-tipping and one duty of care offence at Leeds Crown Court. Here's a video of his van, which was seized, being crushed.”

https://t.co/bnZuhMwIJi

[Danielle Smith @ABDanielleSmith]

Free Speech is a foundational Alberta value. We don’t believe in policing unpopular or religious-based statements even if they are controversial. That’s a slippery slope other countries have fallen into and we can’t go down that road.

Our Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services, Mike Ellis, will be writing to our provincial and municipal policing providers to ensure they understand Albertans’ policing priorities should focus on violent crimes, illegal drugs, theft and vandalism…not people’s free speech.

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

It gets worse.

Without approval from Parliament, the @edmontonpolice have invented UK-style “non-criminal hate incidents” that they intend to police. Examples include “offensive jokes”.

The Edmonton Police themselves are an offensive joke.

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@CTVKitchener 🧐

[Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 @ezralevant]

Edmonton’s out-of-control police threaten to arrest people who tweet that criminals should be deported. They say that’s a hate crime.

Naturally, they’ve turned off replies — they don’t believe you should have a say.

Anyone hassled by these thugs contact me for a free lawyer.

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@SirajAHashmi

[OhGee @OhGee91511084]

@Gavin_McInnes Wasn’t he the seagull in Watership Down?

[TFTC @TFTC21]

A man returning to the US through Atlanta gave border agents a PIN to his GrapheneOS phone.

But it wasn't his real PIN, it was a duress code that wiped the device clean.

Now the DOJ is charging him with destruction of property to prevent government seizure.

CBP claims the authority to copy the entire contents of your phone into a central database without a warrant, on suspicion alone.

They told this man they didn't need a warrant. They refused to let him speak to a lawyer. They didn't read him his Miranda rights.

And when he used a privacy feature, one specifically designed for situations where you're being coerced into handing over access to your device, they charged him with a federal crime.

The government wants full access to your digital life at the border, and it wants to criminalize any tool that makes that harder.

GrapheneOS built the duress PIN for exactly this kind of scenario. The fact that using it could land you in federal prison tells you everything you need to know about where the lines are being drawn between privacy and compliance.

This case is going to set precedent. If the DOJ wins, every privacy tool that allows you to protect your data under duress becomes a potential felony.

That should concern everyone, regardless of what you think about this particular defendant.

[Dr. Leslyn Lewis @LeslynLewis]

Canada has reportedly signed the UN Cybercrime Convention.

The Liberal government should explain why there was no parliamentary or public debate on this treaty that many believe will impact on the surveillance of Canadians:

1. Why was this decision not announced publicly?
2. What changed since Canada’s earlier concerns about surveillance?
3. Will implementing legislation be required before Canada can fully ratify and implement the Convention?
4. How will Charter rights and privacy protections be safeguarded?
5. Will Parliament have the opportunity to fully examine any implementing legislation before ratification?
6. Has the government assessed the Convention’s implications for AI, cloud computing, and cross-border data governance?

These are important questions for Parliament and for Canadians.

https://t.co/88FHKY4hwK

[Michael Geist @mgeist]

Canada has quietly signed the UN Cybercrime Convention, a treaty it once opposed given fears of expanded state surveillance. The US, Japan, New Zealand, and the Netherlands still haven't signed. Russia, China, and Iran signed on day one. What is happening?
https://t.co/3xkpO9uPY2

[Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms @JCCFCanada]

Protect free speech online before it's too late.

Bill C-34, the so-called Safe Social Media Act, goes far beyond protecting children. It would require age verification for social media, regulate AI chatbots, and give sweeping powers over online expression to a Cabinet-appointed Digital Safety Commission.

Make your voice heard.

It takes less than a minute to send our pre-written letter to your Member of Parliament and the Prime Minister:
https://t.co/PGIBFerCzQ

[Eva Chipiuk, BSc, LLB, LLM @echipiuk]

🚨 BREAKING: Happening right now in an Ottawa criminal courtroom, Ezra Levant is being cross-examined about his social media posts and personal opinions, while serial criminals are being released because of delays in the justice system.

Ontario taxpayers, rejoice!

Instead of your tax dollars going to schools, hospitals, or other public services, they are being spent getting to the bottom of what Ezra thinks and posts online.

All for the good of the public. I am sure.

[Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms @JCCFCanada]

We are receiving reports that some Canadians are being contacted at their homes by government officials about social media posts made months or even years ago.
These reports come after the passage of Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act, which expands Canada's hate speech laws by creating new offences, increasing penalties, and removing certain legal safeguards that previously limited prosecutions for hate-related expression.

If government officials contact you about your online posts, consider recording the interaction. If you believe your rights have been infringed or that you have been unfairly targeted, we encourage you to submit a case application through the Justice Centre's online portal here: https://t.co/s2YWpTJUSA