London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants to regulate speech on Twitter
Labeling Trump a 'dangerous far-right politician who has a history of inciting violence,' the mayor stated that the former president should not be allowed to use any form of social media and called for a broader, sweeping set of regulations to police online speech.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London who has presided over some of the worst increases in knife crime, has called for Twitter to be regulated and for speech to be policed.
Khan, who regularly ignores his constituents to post hot takes on social media, issued a warning to Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk on Sunday hours after former President Donald Trump had his account restored on the platform.
Labeling Trump a “dangerous far-right politician who has a history of inciting violence,” the mayor stated that the former president should not be allowed to use any form of social media and called for a broader, sweeping set of regulations to police online speech.
“The return of Donald Trump to Twitter shows why we desperately need new regulation of social media and online speech,” wrote Khan in his massive missive, ignoring the fact that Trump maintains a strong online platform on Truth Social and whose speeches continue to be featured by the mainstream media.
“Freedom of speech is vital but it must be balanced against keeping other people safe to protect our democracy and society,” he added. “Trump’s actions have put people at risk from hate crime and physical violence and he encouraged and attempt to overthrow the democratically elected US government on 6 January. We already know it could happen again if he is allowed back.”
Trump, said Khan, “should not be given access to a huge platform to continue spreading hate and undermining democracy without at the very least signing a binding code of conduct leading to his immediate removal if broken.”
Trump is a dangerous, far-right politician who has a history of inciting violence.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 20, 2022
He must not be allowed to use social media to preach hate and further fuel the politics of division. pic.twitter.com/YxEpppvaT4
Although Khan’s remarks garnered thousands of likes, he was swiftly condemned by numerous commentators who pointed out how poor of job he was doing as London’s caretaker.
“Get in the sea, you cretinous failure,” wrote Australian journalist Rita Panahi.
Get in the sea, you cretinous failure. pic.twitter.com/HR8mPZVmku
— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) November 20, 2022
“You can’t even keep London safe,” replied lawyer and conservative commentator Mike Cernovich.
Actor Matthew Marsden asked, “How are the stabbing statistics in London?”
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