UK waters down internet rules plan after free speech outcryLONDON (AP) — The British government has abandoned a plan to force tech firms to remove internet content that is harmful but legal, after the proposal drew strong criticism from lawmakers and civil liberties groups.The U.K. on Tuesday defended its decision to water down the Online Safety Bill, an ambitious but controversial attempt to crack down on online racism, sexual abuse, bullying, fraud and other harmful material.In its original form, the bill gave regulators wide-ranging powers to sanction digital and social media companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.The Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who took office last month, has now dropped that part of the bill, saying it could “over-criminalize” online content.Digital Secretary Michelle Donelan said the change removed the risk that “tech firms or future governments could use the laws as a license to censor legitimate views.”Russia's Putin says he won't use nuclear weapons in UkraineUK says new PM Rishi Sunak won't go to UN climate conferenceEurope sees fastest pace of rate hikes since euro launchedShell 3Q earnings double, stir debate on energy profit tax“It was a creation of a quasi-legal category between illegal and legal,” she told Sky News."