00:00Good luck on your race.
00:01The gentleman from California is recognized.
00:03Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
00:04First, I'd remind my colleague from Georgia that President Trump was openly nominated
00:09after decisively winning the primary votes across the country.
00:13That's an open contrast to the Democratic nominee who has decreed the nominee of her party
00:19in spite of the fact she did not receive a single primary vote.
00:22So I would be a little careful if I were him about talking about coronations.
00:26I do agree with my Democratic colleagues that we need to be on guard against suppression
00:31of free speech, whether it's coming from the left or the right, but I disagree with them
00:36that the chief executive regulating the executive branch's communications or conforming executive
00:44agencies and grantees to executive policy is somehow a threat to free speech.
00:50The executive branch is designed to speak with one voice, a voice chosen every four years
00:56by the people.
00:57And I disagree with them that suing for defamation is an infringement on speech in a legal system
01:03where the truth is an absolute defense.
01:06The threat to democracy is from the government regulating other people's communications.
01:13And we're now discovering that the Biden administration used the FBI to pressure tech companies to censure
01:18the communications of the American people over a free discussion of everything from COVID policy
01:25and origins, the Russian collusion hoax, Biden family influence peddling, climate change.
01:31I myself was the victim of this censorship when I warned of the damage that the COVID lockdowns
01:36were causing.
01:38Now, democracy assumes that the best way to separate truth from lies or wisdom from folly or good
01:44from evil or love from hate is to place the two of them side by side and then trust the
01:51common sense and good judgment of the people to know the difference.
01:55But this assumes that the people have full and unfettered freedom to express themselves and
02:00to challenge the claims and opinions of each other.
02:03Now, some of our colleagues seem to be suggesting that we should transfer that prerogative from the
02:08people to the government.
02:10That's the very definition of authoritarianism.
02:13Mr. Farage, what are your thoughts?
02:16Yeah, I agree with that.
02:16I think, you know, we are, as citizens, we should be free to make our minds up, to express our opinions,
02:26to a large extent to make our own mistakes, provided, and we all know there's a limit to free speech.
02:33You know, the professor talked about incitement earlier, and of course, you know, we would be
02:36absolutely joined together on that.
02:39We don't want incitement.
02:40We don't accept incitement.
02:42And if people put out something irrational or insightful, but very quickly put their hands
02:47up and apologize and learn their lesson, that's kind of how the world is.
02:50I do not want government to be the arbiter of what I should think.
02:55We have a word for that.
02:56It's deimos gratis, ruled by the people.
02:59So, yes, I'm with you on that.
03:00I also agree with you that COVID, I touched on this earlier, it was during COVID when rational
03:07debate about many important issues, be it mask wearing, be it lockdowns, rational debate
03:14on these things was, frankly, stamped out.
03:17And this was supported by big social media companies, many, not GB News, obviously, but
03:23many TV stations, et cetera.
03:26It's a very dark period that we're coming at.
03:29In this country, what we're discovering is that was being done under pressure by the
03:32FBI, directed by the executive branch of the government under Joe Biden.
03:37But just briefly, how did this happen to the UK and the EU, and what lessons should we be
03:43drawing here today?
03:44Well, we joined the EU half a century ago, or the EEC as it was then called.
03:48It was a huge mistake, in my opinion.
03:50We forgot about common law, the kind of law that you guys have always enjoyed too.
03:55We sort of gradually transferred to a European way of thinking.
03:59We incorporated a Human Rights Act, which kind of meant really that, you know, as opposed
04:04to being born free, under a human rights regime, the state gives you your rights, which you're
04:09supposed to be incredibly grateful, but they can take them away whenever they like.
04:13So we lost our bearings.
04:15The UK lost its way.
04:17It became obsessed about doing things a European way.
04:20Countries, frankly, that don't have that history of liberty, freedom, and democracy that we do.
04:29Finally, what do you see as the shape of things to come?
04:31Are we going to regain these freedoms or lose them?
04:34Well, ultimately, the people have to get what they vote for.
04:37And one of the reasons that we are seeing an extraordinary political revolution that is
04:42happening in parts of Europe, and if you believe the polls, what is happening in the United Kingdom
04:47right now is we want a government that comes in and gets rid, gets rid of all these laws
04:54and starts again, and starts on the basis, yes, we want to try and protect kids, and we will do
05:00whatever we can that is practical to protect kids from serious harm online.
05:05But we will get back to the idea that I can insult you, you can insult me, Mr. Raskin and I can have
05:12our chats, but we do it, you know, in a spirit that's not insightful and in a way that honors
05:18those who built our great countries.
05:22Gentleman Neal is back.
05:23Well done.
05:24The gentlelady from Washington is recognized.
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