The Control of Information.
How the rich and powerful shape the media and control your mind. By Dr. Judith Brown
“…the evolving regulatory pressures—including strict enforcement mechanisms and potential liabilities—have created an operational landscape in which continuing to serve the UK market exposes our company to unacceptable legal and compliance risks.” BitChute, 10 April 2025.
Current news concerning censorship.
I am interrupting my reports of global fact checking over the next three posts to bring some current censorship news stories. The first report below is an account of the American video sharing platform BitChute, who are leaving the UK market because of the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA). The OSA censors information to the extent that it puts this platform at risk of huge fines. BitChute continues to allow publishers to post information that aligns with the American First Amendment, but would risk draconian penalties operating in the UK, threatening its viability. The second post outlines the position of another American platform, Gab, that operates a similar system of sharing to X (Twitter). Gab is pulling out of the UK because it is now required to give the names of users of their platform to Ofcom. This could put British users at risk of detention, arrest and imprisonment; currently arrests of people for online posts is occurring at the rate of 30 a day in UK [1] here. The third will be about developments of the UK censorship on free speech by the British intelligence-aligned Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). This originally occurred in the USA, and then because this has failed due to the change of administration, at a global level. This will be linked to a new story of evidence emerging of US$1.4 billion dollars that was used by the past two American administrations to censor information, in the USA and elsewhere.
The tyranny of the British Online Safety Act.
On 10 April 2025, the American online video-sharing platform BitChute withdrew its online services from the UK because of the restrictions imposed by the Online Safety Act (OSA). Although the OSA claims it is defending the vulnerable, its main function is to censor information in line with the wishes of the government and global policy makers. The very large online platforms (VLOP) and the very large online search engines (VLOSE) are required to censor on behalf of powers that want to control information, with draconian penalties if they do not comply. The UK has a long history of controlling information, which can be evidenced through critical political literature, although this comes as a surprise to many UK citizens. They do not know about the information that is being withheld from them, nor do they understand the way that their own views will be supressed if they do not keep to a required narrative. This is evidenced in my earlier The Control of Information Posts, which can be accessed in its archives. For example, in the UK, 30 people a day are arrested for social media posts, or otherwise expressing a dissenting opinion, whilst the content of these events is not illegal but cause what is called “annoyance”, “inconvenience” or “anxiety” [2] here. This may be as minor as expressing an opinion on X (Twitter), that people of the male sex should not compete in women’s sports, or a lone elderly woman outside an abortion clinic holding a notice offering to listen if anyone wanted to talk to her.
For information on the excesses of control of information in the UK, please see earlier The Control of Information reports, dated 2nd, 5th. 9th. 13th and 16th of January 2025. Also see the post on the smearing, detention and arrest of journalists that do not follow approved narratives in the UK and Europe, dated 30th March 30, 2025. These are available for free in the archives. These reports evidence the excesses of censorship under which the UK citizens are being controlled, funded by governments, or those of immense wealth, or huge corporations. Major UK sectors are now totally controlled by the wealth of such funders, including the media, academia, the health professions, government, regulators, education, and many industries.
BitChute posted the following statement on its online platform to explain its decision:
To our valued users in the United Kingdom,
After careful review and ongoing evaluation of the regulatory landscape in the United Kingdom, we regret to inform you that BitChute will be discontinuing its video sharing service for UK residents.
The introduction of the UK Online Safety Act of 2023 has brought about significant changes in the regulatory framework governing online content and community interactions. Notably, the Act contains sweeping provisions and onerous corrective measures with respect to content moderation and enforcement. In particular, the broad enforcement powers granted to the regulator of communication services, Ofcom, have raised concerns regarding the open-ended and unpredictable nature of regulatory compliance for our platform.
The BitChute platform has always operated on principles of freedom of speech, expression and association, and strived to foster an open and inclusive environment for content creators and audiences alike. However, the evolving regulatory pressures—including strict enforcement mechanisms and potential liabilities—have created an operational landscape in which continuing to serve the UK market exposes our company to unacceptable legal and compliance risks. Despite our best efforts to navigate these challenges, the uncertainty surrounding the OSA’s enforcement by Ofcom and its far-reaching implications leaves us no viable alternative but to cease normal operations in the UK.
Therefore, effective immediately, BitChute platform users in the UK will no longer be available to view content produced by any other BitChute user. Because the OSA’s primary concern is that members of the public will view content deemed unsafe, however, we will permit UK BitChute users to continue to post content. The significant change will be that this UK user-posted content will not be viewable by any other UK user, but will be visible to other users outside of the UK. Users outside the UK may comment on that content, which the creator will continue to be able to read, delete, block, reply and flag. Users outside the UK may share UK-user produced content to other users outside of the UK as normal. In other words, for users in the UK, including content creators, the BitChute platform is no longer a user-to-UK user video sharing service.
We deeply regret the inconvenience and disappointment this decision may cause to our UK users and partners. This decision was not taken lightly. It reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of compliance, protecting our community, and ensuring that our platform remains a safe and sustainable space for creative expression globally. We recognize the value of our UK community and extend our sincerest apologies for the disruption caused by this necessary step. Our support team remains available to answer any queries or concerns regarding this transition.
We appreciate the support and engagement of our community around the world and remain dedicated to providing a platform that champions free expression and innovative content sharing in an environment of regulatory certainty.
Thank you for your understanding.
Since its launch, BitChute has hosted many independent podcasts and news providers that would have been ignored by the mainstream media, and censored on Google-owned YouTube. This includes information that has significant value; for example, experts on issues such as climate, gender, health and war that offer a different perspective to those given out by governments and organisations funded by policy makers such as the World Health Organisation or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Nonetheless, often these alternative opinions are worthy, and it gives people the chance to compare different perspectives and make up their own mind on a variety of topics. Science is never settled and it is ridiculous to say that it is. Science develops, often emerging from those with dissenting viewpoints.
It is my own view that this is the first of many platforms to withdraw from UK, as the realities of the OSA are rolled out. This will be a bit like the boiling of a frog; most of the public will be unaware of the extent of new restrictions, but it will gradually increase until its affects are obvious to the whole population.
This is a warning of what is coming.