She may have been more direct in The Thick of It than Compton, but Nadine Dorries seemed fearless.
In a move that has provoked a somewhat mixed reaction, the culture secretary released an explanation of the government’s online security bill in the form of a 41-second rap to TikTok.
“It’s effectively a framework to protect Internet users / from scams, illegal content and anonymous abusers,” Dorries rhymes with legislation that will force technology companies to protect children and adults from harmful online content. .
In the clip, shot in his office and posted from his account on the streaming platform, other lines that are incorporated into the rap include apparent responses to activists who have suggested that the proposals are a “recipe for censorship.”
“But is it true that it will affect freedom of expression?” the minister asks, before images of sections of the bill appear, adding: “No … we have put legal protections in section 19”.
The clip is soft compared to previous interventions on Dorries social media, which has earned a reputation for taking a particularly combative approach to using Twitter.
Many, however, were not yet ready for TikTok rap.
“Help, I just got traumatized by the online content,” was the reaction of one Twitter user, as others suggested that the minister’s own communications team might not have taken her best interests into account.
Matthew Lesh, head of public policy at the Institute for Economic Affairs, reassured fans: “This ‘rap’ of Nadine Dorries is very emotionally distressing and has no reasonable excuse. Fortunately, it will soon be illegal under the new crime of communications based on damage to the online security bill “.
The TikTok clip appeared on Thursday as the controversy continued to revolve around separate developments directly related to the secretary of culture’s document.
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CBBC, BBC Four and Radio 4 Extra will close and become online-only services, the corporation said, in response to Dorries’ decision to freeze the license fee by £ 159 over the next two years.
Channel 4 also responded to a tweet from Dorries, who claimed that plans to privatize the TV channel’s attempt “would free up Channel 4” in order to raise investment for programming.
“A proposal was made in response to a request from DCMS, which showed how C4 could raise a small amount of external capital,” the Channel 4 press office tweeted.