BitChute CEO warns U.K. heading toward “China-style internet censorship”

05/03/2025 / By Laura Harris

BitChute CEO Ray Vahey likened the U.K.’s growing internet censorship to China’s “Great Firewall,” warning of mass surveillance, eroded encryption and thought-policing under the new Online Safety Act.
Vahey criticized U.K. authorities for targeting individuals over social media posts, citing cases like police visiting pensioners’ homes for “offensive” Facebook comments, calling it a betrayal of free speech traditions.
He highlighted the shutdown of niche online communities (e.g., a hamster forum) due to the burdensome regulations, arguing it disproportionately harms independent websites.
Due to unsustainable censorship rules and financial risks, BitChute is partially withdrawing from the U.K., blocking local viewers from accessing U.K.-creator content while keeping it available internationally.
The platform denounced the vague definitions of “harmful” speech in U.K./EU law, calling compliance impossible. Its exit creates a split where U.K. users can upload but not view each other’s content domestically.

BitChute CEO Ray Vahey has compared the growing embrace of authoritarian internet controls of the United Kingdom to the notorious “Great Firewall” of China.

In a recent interview with Ickonic, Vahey lashed out at government efforts to monitor private messages, warning of eroding encryption and mass surveillance. Vahey cited alarming cases of U.K. authorities targeting individuals for social media posts, including police visiting pensioners’ homes over Facebook comments.

“There’s videos coming out about six coppers turning up to pensioners’ homes because they put something on Facebook that the government doesn’t like. I mean, this is crazy. This is a country that, you know, came up with the concept of free speech and pushed it out to most of the world. And now it’s one that those philosophers wouldn’t even recognize. It’s going completely the opposite way,” he said.

Vahey used the shutdown of a hamster forum as proof that the Online Safety Act is harming small communities and independent websites, saying the law is destroying niche online spaces. (Related: Britain’s new Online Safety Act is forcing small websites to shut down.)

He then called the sweeping surveillance and speech restrictions of the U.K. under the new Online Safety Act a step toward a “very dark future.” Vahey argued that the push for broad control over online expression mirrors the restrictive internet policies of Beijing.

“I absolutely do think that we’re heading toward a system similar to what we’ve seen in China, which is the great firewall of China, if they don’t approve of something in their centralized government, then it doesn’t get through. No one has access to it,” Vahey said. “They want to know everything happening on the internet. Very frighteningly, they want to police thought – they want to decide what’s true and what isn’t. It’s like Orwell’s 1984 Ministry of Truth.”

BitChute: U.K.’s censorship regime is untenable

BitChute is leaving the U.K. due to its strict censorship rules, excessive costs and government overreach under the new Online Safety Act.

The exit strategy of BitChute involves a partial shutdown. For instance, U.K. creators can still upload content, but their videos will not be viewable by other U.K.-based users. Their content remains accessible internationally, effectively creating a “digital partition” where Britons can only be heard abroad.

BitChute, a platform known for its free-speech-centric policies, declared the censorship regime of the U.K. “untenable,” confirming that compliance with the broad definitions of “harmful” and “extremist” speech under U.K. and EU law had become unsustainable.

Under the Online Safety Act, Ofcom, the communications regulator of the U.K., can impose fines of up to 10 percent of a company’s global revenue if it deems a platform insufficiently compliant with content moderation rules. BitChute argued that the vague and subjective nature of these regulations left it vulnerable to arbitrary enforcement, making continued U.K. operations impossible.

“After careful review and ongoing evaluation of the regulatory landscape in the United Kingdom, we regret to inform you that BitChute will be discontinuing its video-sharing service for U.K. residents.

The BitChute platform has always operated on principles of freedom of speech, expression and association. However, the evolving regulatory pressures, including strict enforcement mechanisms and potential liabilities, have created an operational landscape in which continuing to serve the U.K. market exposes our company to unacceptable legal and compliance risks.

This decision was not taken lightly. It reflects our commitment to maintaining the highest standards of compliance, protecting our community and ensuring that our platform remains a safe and sustainable space for creative expression globally,” the company said in its official statement.

The latest news coverage about the criminalization of speech can be found at Censorship.news.

Watch this video discussing how Canada is watching how the U.K. is implementing the Online Safety Act as it prepares its own anti-online content law.

This video is from the Rick Langley channel on Brighteon.com.