#169 - Preston Bryne - Britain Isn't A Free Country Anymore

In this powerful episode of The Peter McCormack Show, Preston Bryne, a U.S.-based British lawyer, delivers a searing critique of the United Kingdom's erosion of free speech, particularly through the Online Safety Act and the overreach of regulators like Ofcom. Bryne recounts his personal awakening to censorship after witnessing a 16-year-old arrested in London for holding a sign that read 'Scientology is a dangerous cult'—a moment that ignited his decade-long mission to defend free expression, especially for controversial American platforms like 4chan, Kiwi Farms, and Gab. He argues that the UK has become a non-free country, where the state can police nonviolent opinion with impunity, and that this censorship is not left- or right-wing but a systemic threat to democracy. Bryne details his efforts to build a legal and political framework for a British free speech bill, inspired by the U.S. First Amendment, and his humorous yet defiant 'hamster email' campaign against Ofcom’s unenforceable fines. He also discusses the Granite Act—a state-level U.S. shield law designed to deter foreign censorship by allowing lawsuits against foreign governments—and how it’s gaining bipartisan traction. Ultimately, Bryne calls for grassroots activism in the UK to reclaim free speech as a cross-party issue, warning that without it, the country risks becoming a society where even honest discourse is criminalized.