Musk’s Two-Pronged View on Free Speech

In the fevered visions of some in the US right now, Britain has undergone a radical transformation. Gone are all those bewitchingly sharp dowager duchesses, kneeling maids, wizards and crumpets. Right now, asylum-seeking grooming gangs roam the North unchecked, while in Londonistan the Metropolitan Police take their orders from mullahs. Communist judges throw middle-aged mothers in jail for having senior moments on Facebook; busts of Winston Churchill are festooned with pride flags; and Keir Starmer is rarely seen standing, preferring to take a knee whenever possible.

To the presumed horror of the UK tourist board, Elon Musk has joined in, taking a break from trying to detonate nukes on Mars and instead putting a metaphorical version under the discourse. According to him, the UK is now plagued by “dual justice” and “civil war is inevitable”. Over the past two weeks, he has sent out a stream of posts and memes ridiculing various attempts by Starmer and his Director of Public Prosecutions to strike fear into the hearts of potential criminals by telling them of the dire consequences they could face if they rioted or incited riots online.

And it’s the latter that Musk is particularly concerned about. Communications offences in British law have long included sending “grossly offensive” and “indecent” messages, as well as obscene and threatening messages. Last year’s Online Safety Act also criminalized knowingly false messages intended to cause “non-trivial psychological or physical harm to a likely audience” without “reasonable excuse.” Meanwhile, the Criminal Justice Act generally requires racial or religious animus to be considered as aggravating factors in a criminal conviction, resulting in harsher sentences than otherwise possible. A plea of ​​guilty also means that the decision can be made more quickly than if guilt had to be established at trial.