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Nation First looks into an order by the Australian Government to have Gab hand over user data for ‘offensive’ posts – and Gab’s fearless response.

Australia’s Albanese Labor government has once again shown its true colours — authoritarian, anti-free speech, and utterly terrified of dissent. In a move that would make Orwell blush, the Albanese government has reportedly attempted to strong-arm an American-based free speech social media platform, into handing over data on a user who dared to post something “offensive” about the Prime Minister.

You read that right. Not defamatory, not a direct threat — just offensive.

• The Albanese government has pressured Gab to hand over user data for an “offensive” post about the Prime Minister.
• Section 474.17 of the Criminal Code is being used to criminalise online speech, with penalties of up to five years in prison.
• Gab’s CEO refused the demand, but other platforms like Telegram and X have already complied with similar government pressures.
• The government is covertly using Big Tech to suppress dissenting voices under the pretext of safety and offensiveness.
• Free speech in Australia is under threat. We must resist increasing censorship.

Section 474.17 of the Criminal Code, a draconian relic of the past dressed up as modern law, is now being weaponised against ordinary Australians for merely speaking their minds online. And what’s the penalty? Up to five years behind bars. Five years!?! For hurting someone’s delicate political feelings? This isn’t just overreach — it’s outright tyranny.

Massive Overreach

So when the order came through to social media platform Gab, the company’s fearless CEO, Andrew Torba, saw it for what it was and told the Albanese government to “get bent”. America still has free speech, after all, and Gab is an American company and has that constitutional protection. But in Australia, with the passage of recent “hate crime” laws, censorship is tightening like a noose around the neck of anyone who refuses to toe the government line.

The timing of this is no accident. Just as Gab was rejecting the Albanese government’s demands, Telegram was mysteriously purging nationalist and right-wing channels, wiping out voices that refuse to be silenced. Earlier this month, X (formerly Twitter) saw a similar ban-wave targeting Australian dissidents. Now, many of these accounts on both Telegram and X were edgy, to say the least. Many were those held by neo-Nazis.

Now, neither I nor Nation First have any sympathy for neo-Nazis, but we do uphold the old adage oft-(mis)attributed to Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Not so the Australian Government, though. Their pattern of behaviour is clear — emboldened by their own arrogance, the government is waging war on edgy political opponents under the guise of “safety” and “offensiveness.”

Yet, they don’t even have the guts to do it openly. Instead, they pressure Big Tech to do their dirty work, leaning on platforms to erase dissent, de-platform opposition, and dismantle any movement that doesn’t fit their globalist, left-wing agenda. And unlike Gab, which stood firm, Telegram and X have caved, proving once again that the modern internet is being reshaped into a tool of control, not freedom.

Speak Up Now

This isn’t just about one user’s “offensive” post. It’s about the principle. It’s about whether Australians still have the right to speak their minds without fear of persecution. Because make no mistake — if the government succeeds in criminalising speech that offends someone today, what will they come for tomorrow? Criticising gender fluidity being taught in schools? Questioning mass immigration? Challenging net-zero lunacy?

We are at a crossroads. Either we stand up now and refuse to be silenced, or we accept a future where free speech is just a memory, replaced by government-approved opinions and Big Tech-enforced obedience.

So, what’s it going to be, Australia? Are you still a free people, or are you going to let your government turn you into a nation of whisperers, too scared to offend our rulers?

It’s time to fight back. Speak louder. Spread the truth. Support platforms like Gab that refuse to kneel. Because if we don’t defend free speech now, we may never get the chance to again.

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Republished with thanks to Nation First.