By MARK HALL, Associated Press U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson speaks at the Foreign Office in London, Britain, October 15, 2017.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has vowed to protect freedom of expression at a time when internet censorship and the push to impose stricter rules are sweeping the globe.
Johnson said in a statement that the UK is “not the only country in the world that will not accept false information and misinformation.”
“This is a time for our democracies to reclaim their place at the table and for us to be the champions of truth and freedom.
We will be relentless in defending freedom of speech and the right to report on what is happening around the world,” Johnson said.
He said the U,S.
and Europe are “all in the business of protecting our citizens from false information, false rumours, misinformation and disinformation.”
Johnson, a former Foreign Secretary, is also seeking to push through legislation that would allow Britain to ban foreign-made content that the government considers harmful to British interests.
The legislation is likely to be discussed at a crucial Security Council meeting in September.
It will be up to the council to decide on measures to combat fake news.
The bill also seeks to make it illegal for foreign companies to sell ads targeting people based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or religion, and to make overseas companies liable for false information about them.
It also includes a ban on fake news websites.
Johnson said in his statement that “all citizens have a right to know and hold free and fair elections and referendums, free and free communication and information, and freedom of association, which is what we as a society seek to promote.”
He said the government is committed to upholding and promoting freedom of information and has a duty to defend it, but it is “increasingly important that this is done in a transparent, independent and open manner, while at the same time protecting the integrity of our electoral processes and our political institutions.”___In a speech in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, Johnson said he wanted to ban fake news sites because they “target people based their sexual or gender identity, ethnicity, religion or national origin.”