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

Preston Byrne is the only American lawyer fighting the UK's attempt to censor US companies under the Online Safety Act. He's representing 4chan, Kiwi Farms, Gab and Sanctioned Suicide - pro bono - because no other firm would take the cases.

In this interview, Preston explains why Britain isn't a free country anymore, what Ofcom actually claims the power to do to American websites and why he says the UK is trying to enforce British censorship law on American soil. We get into the moment that started him down this path - a 16-year-old getting a criminal summons from the City of London Police for holding a sign - and why two decades later he believes the rest of the country is finally catching up to what he saw then.

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TIMESTAMPS:

00:00:00 - The Cases No One Else Would Take

00:03:06 - From Banking Lawyer To Free Speech Fight

00:05:00 - "I Didn't Know How Important It Was Until It Was Taken Away"

00:06:49 - The Sign That Started Everything

00:13:50 - What Ofcom Actually Is

00:17:09 - The Question Britain Has Never Asked

00:21:11 - Why Reform And The Greens Both Get It Wrong

00:24:23 - Drafting A British First Amendment

00:28:21 - What The Bill Keeps, What It Repeals

00:31:56 - "I'm Not Setting Foot In The UK"

00:34:02 - The Career Cost Of This Fight

00:36:55 - Death Threats From UK IPs

00:37:33 - The Libertarian Case For Using The Courts

00:40:00 - Why Age Verification Isn't The Answer

00:45:00 - The VPN Problem Australia Created

00:46:28 - "The System Is Designed To Produce Violations"

00:49:16 - Where The First Amendment Actually Stops

00:52:45 - The Marmot Liberation Front

00:54:52 - Mr Whiskers Vs Ofcom

01:00:00 - Holding The Perimeter For 30 Million Users

01:04:00 - Why No Big Law Firm Will Touch This

01:09:05 - Defending Clients You Personally Find Difficult

01:20:00 - 197 Notices Sent Into America

01:22:18 - The GRANITE Act, Explained

01:25:00 - "£46 Billion Sitting At The Federal Reserve"

01:26:10 - Wyoming First, Then Delaware, Then Federal

01:30:17 - "Are We A Free Country Anymore? No."

01:33:06 - Still The Only Lawyer On The Field

01:36:32 - What British Listeners Can Actually Do

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CONTACT PETE

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LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE

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FILMED BY CURTIS TAYLOR

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EDITED BY CONOR MCCORMACK

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