Policy Eleven

Speech & Digital Liberty

Proposed Legislation for the End of the Monitoring State: Absolute prohibition on domestic speech surveillance and the dismantling of behavioural tracking.

United Kingdom Parliament

Abolition of Domestic Speech Surveillance Bill

A BILL TO prohibit absolute the monitoring, analysis, and cataloguing of lawful domestic speech by the state; to dissolve existing monitoring bodies; to mandate the destruction of speech databases; and to criminalise the re-establishment of such functions.

BE IT ENACTED by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Preamble

(1) Whereas free expression is the foundation of a free society and not a threat to sovereignty;
(2) Whereas the monitoring of lawful speech by the state creates a chilling effect on democracy;
(3) Whereas citizens are not subjects for psychological management or behavioural scoring;
(4) Therefore this Act abolishes the apparatus of the monitoring state.

Part 1: Absolute Prohibition

Prohibition on Domestic Speech Monitoring

(1) No agency, body, unit, taskforce, or programme of the Crown may monitor, catalogue, analyse, score, flag, or otherwise track the lawful internet activity, online expression, associations, or communications of British citizens for purposes relating to—

(a)speech moderation or narrative control;

(b)misinformation or disinformation assessment;

(c)extremism risk profiling absent a specific criminal predicate;

(d)psychological, behavioural, or ideological mapping.

(2) Lawful expression shall not be construed as a security signal.

Part 2: Dissolution and Destruction

Immediate Dissolution of Monitoring Bodies

(1) Any public body, unit, or contractor whose function includes domestic monitoring of online speech or digital expression of British citizens is hereby dissolved.

(2) This includes counter-disinformation units, behavioural insight teams applied to speech, and narrative-coordination offices.

Destruction of Records

(1) All datasets, profiles, flags, risk scores, watchlists, or archives derived from domestic speech monitoring shall be permanently destroyed within 90 days.

(2) No copy may be retained by the state, contractors, or foreign partners. Retention constitutes a criminal offence.

Part 3: Criminal Liability and Safeguards

Prohibition on Reconstitution

(1) It is a criminal offence for any Minister, civil servant, or contractor to re-establish such a body, shift functions to arm's-length entities, or outsource speech monitoring to private or foreign actors.

(2) Penalty: Mandatory dismissal, forfeiture of pension, and custodial liability.

Security Exception

(1) Targeted surveillance is permitted only where a specific individual is under investigation for a defined criminal offence, subject to a judicial warrant.

(2) Bulk collection, pre-crime profiling, and ideological risk assessment remain strictly prohibited.

Prohibition on Foreign Coordination

(1) No British authority may share domestic speech data with foreign governments, supranational organisations, or foreign NGOs.

(2) Any existing arrangements facilitating such sharing are void.

Part 4: Final Provisions

Affirmation of Free Civic Expression

(1) The state affirms that free expression is not a threat to sovereignty, dissent is not extremism, and citizens are not subjects of psychological management.

Short Title

This Act may be cited as the Abolition of Domestic Speech Surveillance Act 2026.