The editorial board of Bylines Scotland, in common with all the titles in the UK-wide Bylines Network, has made the decision to no longer publish posts on this platform. Furthermore, we have decided to make the publication dormant – in order to protect its handle from hijacking – on the social media platform X.
The decision to end its use of X was not taken lightly by Bylines Scotland. We are committed to free speech. It is a fundamental part of what we are as a publication and who we are as individuals. Censorship is alien to us. But, as with all aspects of human life, there are limits to free speech. When the free speech of some becomes the denigration and sexualisation of others, and is done without consent, then free speech is no longer what it claims to be, but a weapon used by some to have control over others.
We believe the UK Government, in common with other governments across the world, is right to seek to use law and regulation to ban the sexually explicit exploitation of women and children on Grok, which is owned by X and ultimately by Elon Musk.
Elon Musk’s response
The tardy and petulant response of Musk has given comfort to those who seek to exploit. He has been supported by the US Vice President J D Vance and in the UK by Nigel Farage. They are free speech extremists who do not represent the values of billions of ordinary people worldwide. The world’s mothers and fathers, the world’s countless decent men and women want women and children to be safe. They do not want people to walk in fear of how their own bodies will be presented. This is not about free speech but about exploitation.
Our values
We do not believe in the distortion of truth for political ends. We do not believe that the great technological achievement that is the internet should be captured to enable billionaire owners, and some users of the platforms they own and run, to remove from people, particularly women and children, their right to control how they are pictured and portrayed.
Who we are
Bylines Scotland is an extremely small player in the media world. We have no wealthy owners. We have no wealthy backers of any kind. We rely entirely on the goodwill and support of our readers and our writers and editors. We are not beholden to any political or business interests.
But we can exercise moral judgement. Our editorial board has unanimously voted to remove Bylines Scotland from X. We are judged in life by the company we keep. We no longer wish to be associated with X. To do so would be to lack moral courage. We believe our readers will support our decision.
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