A British Conservative Party MP’s pro-parenting campaign video has been blocked on X because it features a baby.
Neil O’Brien MP, known for his work on demographic and family policy, posted a four-minute film on X alongside Phoebe Arslanagić-Little, co-cirector of Boom, which promotes making it easier to choose to have children.
Arslanagic-Little, is also Head of the New Deal for Parents at the think-tank Onward, campaigning for a UK that is a better place to be a parent.
The video highlighted Britain’s collapsing birth rate and argued using facts, figures and personal testimony that having children in the UK has become financially impossible for many.
“If we don’t fix this problem, then our society is just not going to exist in the way it has done,” the video stated.
But the message is now unavailable to many users inside and outside the UK because it includes footage of Arslanagic-Little’s infant daughter. That triggered automatic restrictions under the Online Safety Act, which treats the presence of a baby as a potential violation of age-related content rules.
“OMG my film on pro-parent policies with Phoebe Arslanagić-Little is being blocked for lots of people by the Online Safety Act because it features Phoebe’s baby! What a mess,” O’Brien wrote on X on August 7.
UK users without age-verified accounts and even those abroad are now greeted with a warning that reads: “Due to local laws, we are temporarily restricting access to this content until X estimates your age.”
Arslanagić-Little mentioned Labour MP Lisa Nandy, who has been involved in overseeing the enforcement of the legislation.
“People are downloading VPNs to watch it. Don’t you think this is crazy?” Arslanagić-Little said on X.
This is not the first time content has been blocked online under the Online Safety Act.
In July, protests outside UK hotels housing asylum seekers were effectively erased from public view for youngsters on platforms including X.
The day after the UK’s Online Safety Act came into force, protests outside hotels housing asylum seekers were effectively erased from public view for youngsters on platforms including X. https://t.co/GK819qJc9W
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) July 29, 2025
