Overview

• Jess Phillips and Peter Kyle have doubled down on comparing Nigel Farage to modern paedophiles to justify the act’s mandatory age-verification rules.
• Ministers reference the Alexander McCartney case—where the offender groomed at least 70 children online and drove one victim to suicide—to underscore the law’s child-protection aims.
• Farage has demanded apologies from Labour ministers, dismissed the Savile comparisons as “gutter politics,” and reiterated his promise to repeal the legislation if in power.
• The Reform UK leader warns that compulsory ID checks and broad takedown powers threaten freedom of speech and risk ushering in state censorship.
• Observers question the act’s enforceability, noting VPN workarounds and reports that legitimate content—from MPs’ speeches to historical and protest material—has been blocked.