Introduction

In this article, we cover the cause for concern in current events and where it will likely lead. From there, we also discuss some philosophy behind fighting censorship and why it is a matter of practical importance.

Current Events

In August of 2024, we are seeing the UK move in a downright totalitarian direction. Riots have broken out over a stabbing incident, and now people are being arrested and sentenced for simply posting about it on social media. Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley is claiming that they will extradite and prosecute even foreigners who "incite hatred and violence" from overseas. I think he's nuts to think that he has such power or reach, but it's worth observing that his rhetoric matches the UK government's escalation in censorship and what's becoming known as a two tier legal system. I have no doubt that statists like Rowly would love to exercise such extreme extradition powers.

Escalations are also being threatened by the EU as Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market warned X based on Musk's interview with Trump. At ACTC we are fan boys for neither Musk nor Trump, but if they follow through on their threats this is an unprecedented act of censorship reaching across international borders. The EU thinks it can dictate what content is allowed to the rest of the world. To folks like Rowley and Breton who think they have the power to shut people up around the world, we say (sarcastically) "Good luck!"

We believe that these events in the UK and EU are a bellwether for government crackdowns on free speech and free press rights worldwide in the near-future, whether the stated reason is outright control of political narratives, or an excuse based on unrest, misinformation, safety, or the latest disease worries. The censors have been permitted to run roughshod over people's rights for the past four years and have been emboldened to take it to the next level.

With current political polarization in the USA, it would be smart to expect unrest regardless of who is declared the winner of the presidential race. It would also be smart to expect a continued escalation of censorship here in response to that unrest, regardless of who is "in charge."

At ACTC, we believe that censorship in the West will simply get stronger, more far-reaching, and more authoritarian in the coming years, unless the people are willing to push back. In the USA, the two major parties are going tit-for-tat and will continue to ratchet things upwards, as each party creates a precedent for the other to use the same powers in retaliation. The Covid years weren't a peak for censorship, they simply paved the way for a higher level of censorship in the future.

Humanity needs to push back every time censorship is used to control the truth. Going to the US Supreme Court and asking them "pretty please" to reduce governmental power is not a viable strategy. Censorship will be defeated by people who are willing to disobey their dictates, shifting away from Corporate Media and Big Tech platforms to deliver dissident narratives.

ACTC was created to provide the tools these dissident creators need.

Philosophy

The US Constitution's 1st Amendment states (in its entirety, emphasis added):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Not everybody we want to help falls under the jurisdiction of the US Federal Government, but we bring this up because the US Founders were correct to recognize (rather than "grant") freedom of speech and the press. These are basic human rights that predate the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Note that "the press" isn't some special class of people in this context, it is an unalienable, individual human right to use tools that spread information. These statements set a precedent that was followed by much of the world over the next two centuries.

The US Founders fought a bloody war against the largest empire in the world at that time, and an important part of what they were fighting against was government control of speech and the press. Given this context, the Founders were not recognizing a right for uncontroversial speech that aligns with the government. Clearly, what they were fighting for included political free speech and press that often goes directly against the government. The job of the press in a free country, though long-forgotten, is to hold the government accountable and expose their misdeeds. If the press in your country can't do this, then you simply do not live in a free country!

20th century British Author George Orwell famously wrote about totalitarianism and understood liberty very well. He is quoted as saying:

If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

Suppressed speech and press is often loaded with truth that is inconvenient for the powers-that-shouldn't-be, harming their narrative control. It often makes people uncomfortable and serves to wake them up, obliterating attempts to groom public opinion.

This is what a free people and a free press do: They seek the truth, develop their own opinions and narratives, share them with the public, which will often disrupt government control over hearts and minds.

Practical Reasons

It's great to talk about philosophy, but our world (particularly in in the West) is at a crossroads. We have very practical reasons to pursue technologies that will make censorship damn-near impossible.

What drew me into the anti-censorship world is the same thing that pulled me into the world of liberty: One topic at a time, I discovered that we've been lied to about everything that matters!

• The medical industry isn't interested in keeping us healthy
• Prescription drugs rarely cure anything
• Governmental nutritional guidance makes people sick
• Western democracies aren't about keeping people free
• The people who are most insistent that they are "free" are not
• Much of the history we've been sold is simply incorrect
• Justice systems aren't about justice
• The banking system creates and enforces the use of money that isn't really money
• The economic theories we've been sold are absolutely incorrect
• Education systems (normally based on the Prussian model) aren't about developing free-thinking, genius creators and entrepreneurs
• The corporate press isn't about helping us understand the reality that surrounds us, and it is anything but "independent"
• The United States hasn't had anything resembling a free market in a very long time

Government, the Corporate Press, and Big Tech have been actively working in jack-booted lockstep against the truth for years. Censorship has been their friend and their tool.

For me, I could share how knowledge of the truth, something that requires critical thinking and individual discernment to sort out, has played a role in my decisions about all of the example topics above. For brevity, I will only share that an elderly friend was pulled into the VA hospital during the Covid scares and was about to undergo treatment that would certainly have killed him. My wife and I were aware of inappropriate treatments, that, combined with his Type 2 Diabetes, were likely to finish him off. My wife was there, actively working with him and the VA, and managed to get him released where he came to our house for recovery. He is alive to this day, and I believe that our discernment of facts outside of what the media was telling everybody are what saved his life.

Further Action

Support us in our efforts to make dissident voices, including those of Conspiracy Theorists, damn-near impossible to censor! Keep an eye on our site for more as we continue to share our efforts moving forward, and sign up for email updates, so that we can keep you informed!

We are looking to expand our media presence, now, and we will be working to get early versions of CensorGuard into the hands of our favorite dissident content creators!

Please use the Contact Us form for ideas about projects, connections we should be making, and to let us know ways that we can help you or you can contribute to our mission.

Please also consider donating to the cause, so that ACTC can develop technologies that serve humanity.

Thanks!
--Mark-A-Billy