Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Think of the children: can we have online safety without censorship? Speeches Battle of Ideas Festival
#onlinesafety
#freespeechdebate
#censorshipdebate
#digitalliberty
#battleofideas
No one wants kids to consume a diet of pornography, violent material or sites that encourage suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. But critics note that the vast majority of the Online Safety Act’s 353 pages and Ofcom’s 2,000-plus pages of guidance and codes of practice (with much more still to come) will impact on adults’ freedom.
And what are the free-speech implications of wider provisions in the legislation that mandate the automated removal of content for all users at a much lower than usual legal threshold, weaken end-to-end encryption, and grant sweeping new powers to ministers and Ofcom?
Will the law even work within its own terms? Tech-savvy teenagers are likely to use workarounds like virtual private networks (downloads of which are up 1,400 per cent since the duties came into force, surging to the top of the app-store charts), borrowed payment cards and alternative platforms.
Yet despite this, is it worth trying to detoxify social media and to protect the young from exposure to vile, hateful and harmful material?
The speakers on this panel are:
Jo Bartosch - Assistant editor, The Critic; journalist and author
Frank Furedi - Sociologist and social commentator; executive director, MCC Brussels
Matthew Lesh - Country manager, Freshwater Strategy; public policy fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs
Baroness Amanda Spielman - Conservative peer, former chief inspector; Ofsted
The Chair is:
Felice Basbøll - History student, Trinity College Dublin; author, The Tyranny of Campus Wellbeing
WORLDwrite is a volunteer-run citizen TV channel that stands up for free speech – no ifs or buts. We film hard-hitting political debates, including panels from the Battle of Ideas festival, tackling taboo topics and defending ordinary people against contempt and censorship.
We train hundreds of young adults every year to shoot the arguments that matter, producing fearless films on politics, democracy, freedom, and global equality. This is Citizen TV that punches above its weight. Subscribe for unapologetic documentaries, debate and dissent.
With no paid staff, the charity WORLDwrite which filmed and is editing the Battle of Ideas Festival sessions needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please support the charity’s Christmas appeal if you can by visiting its JustGiving page at justgiving.com/campaign/worldwritesingathon or hit the Donate button below this video. THANK YOU.
Think of the children: can we have online safety without censorship? Speeches Battle of Ideas Festival
#onlinesafety
#freespeechdebate
#censorshipdebate
#digitalliberty
#battleofideas
No one wants kids to consume a diet of pornography, violent material or sites that encourage suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. But critics note that the vast majority of the Online Safety Act’s 353 pages and Ofcom’s 2,000-plus pages of guidance and codes of practice (with much more still to come) will impact on adults’ freedom.
And what are the free-speech implications of wider provisions in the legislation that mandate the automated removal of content for all users at a much lower than usual legal threshold, weaken end-to-end encryption, and grant sweeping new powers to ministers and Ofcom?
Will the law even work within its own terms? Tech-savvy teenagers are likely to use workarounds like virtual private networks (downloads of which are up 1,400 per cent since the duties came into force, surging to the top of the app-store charts), borrowed payment cards and alternative platforms.
Yet despite this, is it worth trying to detoxify social media and to protect the young from exposure to vile, hateful and harmful material?
The speakers on this panel are:
Jo Bartosch - Assistant editor, The Critic; journalist and author
Frank Furedi - Sociologist and social commentator; executive director, MCC Brussels
Matthew Lesh - Country manager, Freshwater Strategy; public policy fellow, Institute of Economic Affairs
Baroness Amanda Spielman - Conservative peer, former chief inspector; Ofsted
The Chair is:
Felice Basbøll - History student, Trinity College Dublin; author, The Tyranny of Campus Wellbeing
WORLDwrite is a volunteer-run citizen TV channel that stands up for free speech – no ifs or buts. We film hard-hitting political debates, including panels from the Battle of Ideas festival, tackling taboo topics and defending ordinary people against contempt and censorship.
We train hundreds of young adults every year to shoot the arguments that matter, producing fearless films on politics, democracy, freedom, and global equality. This is Citizen TV that punches above its weight. Subscribe for unapologetic documentaries, debate and dissent.
With no paid staff, the charity WORLDwrite which filmed and is editing the Battle of Ideas Festival sessions needs your help to keep its edit suites switched on. Please support the charity’s Christmas appeal if you can by visiting its JustGiving page at justgiving.com/campaign/worldwritesingathon or hit the Donate button below this video. THANK YOU.
