Critics of President Donald Trump have accused him of abandoning America’s role as the leader of the free world and undermining U.S. prestige abroad. But while the Trump administration may not be shipping hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars overseas or starting more endless wars, it is acting as a global defender of democratic values like free speech and personal privacy – just not in the way that the foreign policy establishment wants.
The recent tiff over the British government demanding access to Americans’ sensitive data provides a glimpse into how the administration has championed privacy rights in the face of invasive government overreach by a supposed ally.
The story began in February when The Washington Post reported on a “secret order” from the British government that would require Apple to turn over all data on all of its users to law enforcement. The order effectively banned what is called “end-to-end encryption,” which allows a user’s data to remain private, inaccessible even to Apple. The feature is important not only to guard against hackers, but also to ensure that a prying government cannot access text messages, emails, photos, and other communications stored on someone’s iPhone or iPad, or backed up to the iCloud.
The requirement did not just apply to British citizens. It also included a “demand for backdoor access to the service in other countries, including the United States,” according to the Post.
Nor would it just apply to Apple users, according to an analysis from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Some of Google’s backup options employ similar protections, as do many chat apps, cloud backup services, and more,” EFF noted. “If the U.K. government secures access to the encrypted data of Apple users through a backdoor, every other secure file-sharing, communication, and backup tool is at risk.”
“There is no reason why the U.K. [government] should have the authority to decide for citizens of the world whether they can avail themselves of the proven security benefits that flow from end-to-end encryption,” Apple reportedly told Parliament. But it looked like that argument was falling on deaf ears in London – until the Trump administration got involved.
American officials, led by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance, launched into talks with British officials. Finally, late last month, the UK government relented and withdrew the order – securing a major victory for personal privacy not just in the United States, but in Britain as well.
“A source familiar with the discussions told CNN that Gabbard spoke with her counterpart in the UK, Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Collins, a few times about the issue, including once when the UK delegation visited the White House,” CNN reported. Vance “was also personally involved in reaching a deal, engaging in direct conversations with British government officials to come to what was considered a ‘mutually beneficial’ agreement for both countries.”
Although Trump was not directly involved in the discussions, they reflected his willingness to hold America’s allies as well as her adversaries accountable. The outcome also once again proved that Trump’s “America First” approach to diplomacy and foreign policy is actually what’s best for the world overall.
This wasn’t the first time that top Trump officials, and Vance specifically, had wielded America’s gravitas on the world stage in defense of universal democratic values. In February, Vance blasted European officials for hypocritically claiming to be defenders of “democracy” while simultaneously overturning elections, censoring conservatives, and arresting people who spoke out against transgenderism and mass migration.
There are even some signs that Vance’s impassioned defense of free speech and personal privacy from an America First perspective is now trickling down to U.S. corporate culture.
Just days after Gabbard announced that the British government would be backing off its demand to Apple, discussion board website 4Chan launched a lawsuit against Ofcom, the enforcer of Britain’s so-called “Online Safety Act.”
The Online Safety Act is ostensibly a law to protect children from harmful content and hold tech companies accountable for illegal material online. In reality, it hands sweeping power to unelected regulators to police speech, forcing platforms to censor anything bureaucrats deem “harmful” — even if it’s legal. The result is a de facto speech code where citizens can be fined or even jailed simply for posting opinions that run afoul of the left-wing establishment enforcing the rules.
Under the law, 4Chan and its employees can face fines and imprisonment for not complying with requests to take down content deemed unacceptable by Ofcom.
4Chan is now asking a U.S. court to ban Ofcom from attempting to enforce the Online Safety Act against them. While that in and of itself may be unsurprising, the nature of 4Chan’s argument is noteworthy: They allege that the United States has a unique claim to the internet, and that foreign governments shouldn’t be allowed to tell American companies how to use a technology that Americans invented and keep running.
“Foreign governments, particularly those in Europe, which have not managed to build technology sectors of their own have, for the past half-decade or more, sought to control the American Internet, and hobble American competitiveness, through a range of legislative and non-legislative initiatives,” 4Chan’s attorneys write.
The lawsuit also draws a clear connection between British tyranny in the 18th century and today’s fight. Delaware, where 4Chan is based, “declared itself independent of British authority on June 15, 1776.”
Another plaintiff in the case is headquartered in West Virginia, part of the former British colony of Virginia. “Neither Delaware nor West Virginia are part of the UK,” the lawsuit declares. “Their citizens, both natural and corporate, do not answer to the UK.”
America’s fight with Britain over encryption and the looming battle against the Online Safety Act both reveal a new kind of American leadership under Donald Trump. No longer is the United States content to write blank checks to foreign governments or apologize for its own strength. Instead, Trump has made clear that America will use its power to defend timeless principles — free speech, personal privacy, and the right of individuals to live without the heavy hand of state surveillance — even when those values are threatened by supposed allies.
This is what true leadership of the free world looks like. It is not measured in endless wars or foreign aid boondoggles, but in the willingness to stand firm against creeping authoritarianism, wherever it arises. By backing down the British government and reaffirming that American companies answer to the Constitution, not to Brussels or Whitehall, the Trump administration is showing the world that “America First” does not mean America alone.
Instead, it means a confident, sovereign nation once again willing to lead by example — defending freedom for its own people, and by extension, for all who cherish liberty.
Matt Lamb is a contributor for AMAC Newsline and an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.
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