The UK thought it could police what Americans say online.
Foreign bureaucrats have been threatening American companies with massive fines and even jail time for refusing to censor speech.
But Wyoming just hit foreign censors with a nasty surprise that made them sorry for messing with America.
Foreign censors are threatening Americans with jail time
British regulators have been waging war on American free speech.
The UK's Office of Communications — known as Ofcom — started demanding that U.S.-based websites 4chan and Kiwi Farms comply with Britain's draconian Online Safety Act.
That law forces websites to run invasive age verification checks, censor content British bureaucrats don't like, and threatens companies with fines of up to £18 million or 10% of global revenue.¹
The Biden Administration emboldened this overreach when it served German censorship orders to American citizens under Germany's NetzDG law.²
When 4chan and Kiwi Farms refused to comply, Ofcom cranked up the pressure.
The British regulator threatened the American companies with daily fines, criminal charges, and even two years in prison for website operators.³
Think about that.
A foreign government threatening to jail Americans for refusing to censor websites on American soil.
Attorney Preston Byrne represents both platforms in their lawsuit against Ofcom in federal court.
"American citizens do not surrender our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an e-mail," Byrne said.⁴
The lawyer explained that Ofcom's only real defense against American pushback has been claiming "sovereign immunity" — essentially arguing that foreign governments are above U.S. law when they harass American companies.
"Foreign countries can bully the s*** out of American citizens and companies because they know that U.S. law potentially protects them from consequences for doing so," Byrne said.⁵
But one Wyoming legislator decided to do something about it.
One state legislator took action where Congress has failed
Wyoming State Representative Daniel Singh filed legislation that changes everything.
The GRANITE Act — Guaranteeing Rights Against Novel International Tyranny & Extortion Act — turns the tables on foreign censors.
Singh's bill would make Wyoming the first state letting American citizens and companies sue foreign governments that try to police their online speech.
The legislation strips away the "sovereign immunity" shield that foreign regulators hide behind.
And it hits them where it hurts — with minimum damages of $10 million per censorship threat.⁶
The bill came together remarkably fast.
Preston Byrne wrote up the concept in a blog post just one month before Singh filed it in the Wyoming legislature.
"This bill has a long way to go until it becomes a law, it's got to make it through legislative services, then to Committee, and then get introduced on the floor for a vote," Byrne explained. "But the important thing is, the journey of this concept, the idea of a foreign censorship shield law which also creates a civil cause of action against foreign censors, into law has begun."⁷
The GRANITE Act bans Wyoming agencies from cooperating with foreign censorship orders.
Local officials can't be drafted into enforcing British or Brazilian demands to silence American speech.
The bill defines foreign censorship broadly — any foreign law, regulation, judgment, or demand that would restrict speech protected under U.S. law.
It targets the tactics foreign governments already use: "online safety, hate speech, misinformation, disinformation, defamation, privacy, or 'harmful content' laws."⁸
In other words, all the favorite buzzwords tyrants use to justify silencing dissent.
Trial lawyers become enforcers of American free speech
The GRANITE Act makes foreign censorship expensive.
Real expensive.
If a foreign government threatens an American with censorship, that American can sue for the greater of treble damages, $10 million per threat, or three times any threatened fine.⁹
Those penalties apply jointly to foreign governments, their agencies, and individual bureaucrats carrying out censorship orders.
When Ofcom sent six threatening letters to 4chan, that triggered $60 million in potential damages under Wyoming law.
When the UK threatened Meta with a fine equal to 10% of global revenue — roughly $16.4 billion — tripling that creates a $49.2 billion damages claim against the British government.
And here's the kicker: the UK has $47 billion in sovereign assets in American banks that U.S. courts could seize to satisfy any judgment.¹⁰
"The GRANITE Act makes foreign censorship inbound to the U.S. a very simple cost/benefit exercise for these countries," Byrne explained. "You can try to censor an American citizen or corporation, but if you do, they can sue you, and you, Mr. Foreign Censor, are not judgment proof because your country needs access to the U.S. financial system to survive."¹¹
The law would also take pressure off the White House.
Instead of President Trump having to deal with diplomatic fights every time some foreign bureaucrat demands Americans be censored, trial lawyers would handle it through civil lawsuits.
Trump could focus on making peace deals while American attorneys bankrupt foreign censorship regimes.
Byrne didn't mince words about what this could mean: "If we get corresponding federal action, this law, and laws like it, could represent the single greatest victory for global free speech in thirty years."¹²
States lead where Congress won't act
Wyoming leads where Congress has failed.
New Hampshire is preparing its own GRANITE Act.¹³
Other states are watching.
And if enough states pass these laws, foreign censors face a choice: stop threatening Americans or watch U.S. courts seize their countries' assets.
The state-level approach doesn't require waiting for Congress.
Each state passing a GRANITE Act adds another lawsuit waiting for any foreign government stupid enough to threaten American free speech.
The cumulative effect makes foreign censorship financially suicidal.
Britain threatened to fine American companies millions.
Now British bureaucrats face potential judgments in the billions — with American courts ready to seize UK assets to collect.
That's what happens when you mess with American constitutional rights.
The question is whether Congress will pass a federal version protecting all Americans — not just residents of states brave enough to act.
Foreign censors wanted to export their speech restrictions to America.
Wyoming just showed them what American freedom looks like when it fights back.
¹ Christina Maas, "The GRANITE ACT: Wyoming Bill Targets Foreign Censors With $10M Penalties," Reclaim The Net, November 24, 2025.
² Preston Byrne, "The Full Text of the Wyoming GRANITE Act," Preston Byrne blog, November 19, 2025.
³ Christina Maas, "The GRANITE ACT: Wyoming Bill Targets Foreign Censors With $10M Penalties," Reclaim The Net, November 24, 2025.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Preston Byrne, "The Full Text of the Wyoming GRANITE Act," Preston Byrne blog, November 19, 2025.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Christina Maas, "The GRANITE ACT: Wyoming Bill Targets Foreign Censors With $10M Penalties," Reclaim The Net, November 24, 2025.
⁹ Preston Byrne, "The Full Text of the Wyoming GRANITE Act," Preston Byrne blog, November 19, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.
¹³ Ibid.
