News Round-Up: US Companies Sue UK Over Online Safety Act, False Facial Recognition Arrests, and Taiwan Rolls out Patrol Robot

Every week, the editorial team of Freedom Research compiles a round-up of news that caught our eye, or what felt like under-reported aspects of news deserving more attention.

Over the past week, the following topics attracted our attention:

• US social media firms launch legal challenge against UK’s Online Safety Act, dubbed “censorship law”.

• US law enforcement arrests people due to false alerts from facial recognition systems.

• Taiwan deploys Chinese-made patrol robot in Taipei, critics warn of modern Trojan horse.

• Bankruptcies and unemployment in Germany reach a 10-year peak.

• A UK court has ruled that a Ghanaian fraudster can return to the country on the grounds of depressive conditions, despite three previous deportations.

US Social Media Firms Launch Legal Challenge against UK’s Online Safety Act, Dubbed “Censorship Law”

US companies 4chan Community Support LLC and LolCow LLC, which operate the website Kiwi Farms, have filed a lawsuit in the United States claiming that the UK's Online Safety Act violates the US Constitution. The independence of the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) has also been called into question, with the companies claiming that it is being used as a “British weapon” to violate the civil rights of Americans, according to The Telegraph.

Specifically, the UK Online Safety Act came into full force in July, aiming to protect children from harmful online content such as pornography, material promoting suicide and self-harm. Companies that violate the law can face hefty fines of up to £18 million (approximately €21 million) or 10% of their global turnover, whichever is greater. However, the broad and vague scope of the law has led to widespread and seemingly indiscriminate censorship.

After months of threats of fines and imprisonment from Ofcom, 4chan and Kiwi Farms have initiated legal proceedings. According to the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Preston Byrne, the UK’s Online Safety Act is “a brazen attempt by the UK Parliament to hobble American competitiveness and suffocate American freedom by exporting the UK’s censorship laws to the United States.” Both companies assert that while the content published on their platforms may sometimes be controversial, they operate in full compliance with the US law. The companies argue that the UK’s Online Safety Act and Ofcom’s measures violate the US Constitution and the Communications Decency Act. The companies’ lawyers are seeking confirmation from the court that Ofcom does not have the authority to impose and enforce UK laws that violate the US Constitution on US companies.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended the controversial law, arguing that it protects children and does not restrict freedom of speech. Ofcom, for its part, believes that under the UK Online Safety Act, any service connected to the UK has an obligation to protect UK users, regardless of where in the world the service is located. Yet according to the law, companies are not required to protect users located elsewhere in the world, only UK users.

If the companies are successful in the US court, the Online Safety Act could become unenforceable against them, as companies would no longer have to pay huge fines. However, Ofcom would then have other options, such as requesting that internet service providers to block access to these websites in the UK.

US Law Enforcement Arrests People Due to False Alerts from Facial Recognition Systems

Law enforcement agencies in the United States are increasingly using facial recognition technology. However, several false positives have led to wrongful arrests, and officials have been caught misusing these systems. This has provided critics of facial recognition technology with ample evidence of their unreliability, according to Biometric Update.

For example, in Texas, three bounty hunters were charged with aggravated kidnapping for using unidentified facial recognition software with an accuracy rate of only 79% to identify and detaining a man they mistakenly believed to be a murder suspect. The individual detained by the bounty hunters was released by the police after being verified by using fingerprints. In New York, according to the New York Times, the NYPD arrested a man on charges of indecent exposure in a public place after a false positive from facial recognition technology. The police arrested the man despite significant physical differences between him and the suspect. This is one of at least ten publicly reported cases of a wrongful arrest in the US, with a disproportionate number of such mistaken arrests affecting Black individuals.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, in Chicago, a public defender is challenging evidence gathered through facial recognition in a robbery and murder case, arguing that the system’s unreliability could taint other evidence. Meanwhile, local commissions oppose the Milwaukee Police Department’s plan to expand the use of facial recognition technology, reports Wisconsin Watch, and in Maine, it was revealed that city officials have viewed surveillance camera real-time footage more than 56,000 times to locate people or vehicles, according to The County. Officials have accessed the cameras both during and outside working hours, and the number of incidents disclosed so far would likely be much higher if the cameras had not been shut down from February to July due to a legal review. Additionally, unauthorized individuals have also gained access to the system, raising concerns as both officials and unauthorized persons have access to Verkada cameras, which have facial recognition capabilities.

According to the survey by the Biometrics Institute, 84% of respondents believe that the public needs better education for biometrics to be accepted more widely. However, recent cases highlight the incompetence of the police, bounty hunters and municipal officials, and confirm the need for stricter policies and additional evidence before acting on the basis of facial recognition results.

Taiwan Deploys Chinese-Made Patrol Robot in Taipei, Critics Warn of Modern Trojan Horses

The Taiwanese capital, Taipei, has purchased a robot dog to patrol its streets. The dog is equipped with an optical panoramic survey system that can create 360-degree images, accurately locate facilities, and report automatically. It is capable of gathering comprehensive data and was manufactured by the Chinese company Unitree, which is believed to have ties to the Chinese military.

Opposition members of the city council have criticized the city’s decision to allow a Chinese robot to roam the streets of Taipei, calling it a national security threat, as the robot’s ability to collect such data makes it a kind of a Trojan horse. They warned that the patrol robot’s capability to collect mapping data could benefit the Chinese military. This has sparked public protests and concerns about espionage, given China’s territorial claims over Taiwan.

According to the city council, only one Unitree robot was purchased through the Taiwanese subcontractor Supratech as a trial for maintenance inspections, and although the robot was made by Chinese company Unitree, the camera system was developed by the Taiwanese contractor. The city council promised to address the security issues before taking any further steps.

Bankruptcies and Unemployment in Germany Reach a 10-year Peak.

Germany is facing a severe economic downturn, with increasing bankruptcies and unemployed individuals being registered every month, reaching the highest level in the last decade, according to Remix News. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, 4,007 bankruptcies were registered in July, a 19.2% increase compared to July last year, and in May, 5.3% more insolvency filings by businesses and 16.1% more by consumers were registered than in May 2024. These figures mark the country’s highest level of bankruptcies in 10 years, along with unemployment, which is approaching 3 million.

There have been no noticeable changes in the German economy, despite the fact that Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government promised to turn the economy around and taking on nearly a trillion euros in debt, jumpstart the country’s economy through investments in infrastructure, defense, and so-called climate protection. The chancellor also promised to reduce bureaucracy and taxes.

However, business leaders are predicting a worsening economic downturn and are highly critical of the government’s actions. German economist Daniel Stelter emphasizes the need for structural reforms to restore the competitiveness of the German economy. According to Stelter, Germany is plagued by excessive regulation, high energy prices, and bureaucracy – all of which hinder industry and investment. Stelter believes that Germany’s middle class bears an excessively heavy tax burden, supporting a redistributive welfare state, and that labor taxes are too high. He believes that unless fundamental reforms are implemented quickly, the economic downturn will persist.

According to the data from the Federal Statistical Office, the country’s economy contracted by 0.7% in 2023 and 0.5% in 2024. By the end of last year, employment in Germany had already fallen to its lowest level since 2020, indicating that all industries had laid off workers and not hired new ones. The first few months of this year show that there has been no improvement in these trends; on the contrary, it is likely that by the end of the year, last year’s already poor results will be surpassed.

UK Court Rules a Ghanaian Pastor Can Return to the Country Due to Family Hardship and Depressive Conditions, Despite Multiple Previous Deportations

A UK court has ruled that Samuel Frimpong, a Ghanaian pastor deported in 2013 after a 2008 conviction for using false documents, can return to the UK on human rights grounds, according to the Daily Mail.

Frimpong, who served a four-month sentence for attempting to circumvent immigration rules, was deported three times for re-entering the UK with false documents after his initial 2008 conviction. He appealed under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, claiming that he has since lived a depressive life in Ghana, away from his family, and that his deportation has caused them considerable hardship. His two children, aged 11 and 15, born after the initial conviction, and their mother, struggle to explain the father’s whereabouts, leaving the family to face social isolation and financial hardship in the UK in his absence.

Upper Tribunal Judge Abid Mahmood overturned the deportation order, acknowledging Frimpong’s serious offense, but emphasizing the depressive lives of his family and the insurmountable obstacles his children would face if relocated to Ghana. The judge noted Frimpong’s lack of other offenses since 2008, his remorse, and his role as a pastor, concluding that the deportation order unjustifiably violated the family’s right to family life and allowed Frimpong to apply for entry clearance to reunite with his family.