The Irish Times view on UK online safety rules: a new wedge issue in British politics
One of the main provisions of the act is that age verification requirements and other restrictions are placed on sites that contain material such as pornography, depictions of violence and hate speech, as well as sites that enable the promotion and purchase of drugs and weapons.
The backlash against the act has widened to much more than online safety. Opponents claim it is an encroachment on free speech and, in its own way, represents a slide towards authoritarianism. It is an interesting test case of how far a sovereign government can regulate online content within its borders amid unrelenting pressure from global technology firms. It will be closely watched on this side of the Irish Sea, where regulators have recently introduced the latest phase of new online safety rules
In the UK, a bipartisan US House Judiciary Committee visited recently on a fact-finding mission about the act. Jim Jordan, the committee chair, echoed President Trump's opposition to any policing of online content, which in turn is closely aligned to the view of most US technology companies.
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Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform Party, has mounted a campaign against the act on the basis that it is incompatible with the principle of free speech. Ironically, at a forum Farage organised for the US congressional delegation, he threatened to remove one of the members, who is a Democrat, for criticising President Trump.
Farage, similar to the tech companies, offer no convincing solution to the growing crisis of harmful online content, particularly for children. The Online Safety Act may be a blunt instrument , but it is trying to address an unprecedented array of challenges. The act can be refined and adapted over time, but there is no question about its legitimacy and why it is needed.
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Irish Times
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France, Germany and UK call on Iran to resume nuclear discussions with US
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Irish Times
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European leaders eye Trump-Putin talks on Ukraine with anxiety
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Irish Times
3 hours ago
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Russia tries to align stars for historic deal with Trump at Alaska summit
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'Neocons and other warmongers won't be smiling on Aug 15, 2025. Putin-Trump dialogue will bring hope, peace and global security,' he wrote. In a subsequent post, referring to one of Trump's books, he said: 'The Art of the Deal on Friday August 15.' The Art of the Deal on Friday August 15. — Kirill A. Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) Russia has been assiduously preparing the ground for the sort of deal, or deals, that it desires from the summit. Over several months this year, Kyiv and Europe strengthened co-ordination with the White House over the war in Ukraine, as Trump become increasingly annoyed by what he called Putin's 'bullshit' on the issue. Putin changed the mood music simply by agreeing to meet. It prompted Trump to quietly shelve plans to impose sanctions on all countries that buy Russian oil, and pitched Ukraine and Europe back into the position of trying to rein in Trump – a dynamic that is only likely to renew friction between the US and its erstwhile allies. Putin has also brought Trump to the table without agreeing to a ceasefire or any concessions. Russia still demands permanent control of five regions of Ukraine and limits on its future sovereignty, including a ban on joining Nato. Kyiv says that would be a capitulation, and European states insist borders cannot be changed by force – leaving them vulnerable to allegations from Moscow and some US politicians that they are blocking a deal and should be ignored by America's self-declared 'president of peace'. Moscow also knows that Trump wants a bigger US role in the resource-rich and strategic far north – having threatened to take over Greenland – and more than half the entire coastline of the Arctic Ocean is Russian territory. 'It is in Alaska and in the Arctic that the economic interests of our countries converge and prospects for implementing large-scale mutually beneficial projects arise,' said senior Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Trump said last month that he wanted to begin work on arms control with Moscow before the expiry next February of the 2010 New Start agreement, which is the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms pact. The Kremlin flagged the issue last week by saying it had scrapped a self-imposed moratorium on deployment of short- and mid-range missiles and would now place them wherever it liked, in response to alleged US threats in Europe and Asia. On the battlefield too, Moscow is trying to strengthen its position before the summit. In recent days, Russian troops have pierced a section of the front line in eastern Ukraine and advanced about 10km near the mining town of Dobropillia, as they try to encircle the nearby small cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka and put more pressure on Kyiv's two main strongholds in Donetsk region – the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Kyiv says these are very small groups, moving on foot or in light vehicles, who cannot hold territory but aim to sow chaos behind the front line and – above all – give the impression that Ukraine's defences are collapsing on the eve of the summit. Russian media claim Ukrainian troops are nearly surrounded in some areas, which Kyiv denies. It recalls how Trump said in March that he had asked Putin to spare the lives of 'thousands' of Ukrainian soldiers who were supposedly encircled in Russia's Kursk region. The claim was false, but no one in Trump's administration acknowledged that fact or explained why Trump was unquestioningly repeating Kremlin propaganda. While Moscow's preparations for the summit have been meticulous, Washington's look haphazard, even amateurish. The meeting was agreed when Steve Witkoff, one of Trump's special envoys, visited Moscow last week. US and European media reports say Witkoff – a real-estate developer and donor to Trump's re-election campaign – may have misunderstood Putin's position on Ukraine. He has also been accused of parroting positions espoused by the Kremlin. To compound the sense of chaos, Trump has placed inexperienced loyalists in important intelligence and foreign policy roles, and approved massive cuts at the state department that have culled many of its analysts on Ukraine and Russia. With so many factors in its favour, Russia wants to strike a deal now, not least to gain relief from western sanctions that are combining with high inflation and labour shortages to slowly strangle its economy. Ukrainian drone strikes on oil facilities are also taking their toll, and petrol prices in Russia are now at record highs despite an export ban. Russia's main stock market reflects the national mood, having surged by more than 8 per cent since the summit was announced. 'Everyone is expecting a breakthrough in Russia-US relations,' said Alexei Antonov at Moscow investment firm Alor Broker, 'and also the beginning of a resolution to the Ukrainian problem.'
