Pakistani Christian girl’s forced marriage annulled in win for religious freedom

  • Christian 18-year-old Shahida Bibi’s forced conversion to Islam and forced marriage to her stepfather’s brother have been annulled by a court in Pakistan.  
  • Minority women and girls, often Christian, in Pakistan face dual threat of forced conversion and marriage; ADF International supports their defence to end this human rights abuse.  

Pictured: Shahida Bibi

PAKISTAN (10 March 2025) – Shahida Bibi is now free to return home to her father and to her Christian faith after a court in Pakistan annulled her forced conversion and marriage to her stepfather’s brother. Bibi was 11 years old when her mother eloped with a Muslim man, who then “gave” Bibi to his brother. Bibi went on to give birth to two children, and the brother contracted Islamic Nikah, or a marriage union, to Bibi when she turned 18 in order to escape prosecution under the anti-child marriage law.  

In February 2025, a civil court in Bahawalpur, Pakistan issued a decree in favor of Bibi and ordered that Bibi’s forced marriage be dissolved on all identification documents. Bibi was issued new documents that correctly state her religion as Christianity. ADF International and allied attorneys supported Bibi’s legal defence. 

Globally, 100 million girls are at risk of being forced into child marriage over the next decade, according to UNICEF. The threat for girls from religious minorities, particularly in certain parts of Asia and Africa, of also being coerced into changing their religion in connection with a forced marriage is particularly acute. In Pakistan, for example, more than 1,000 girls from religious minorities are forced into conversion and marriage every year.   

“Nobody should suffer the horrors of abduction and forced marriage, further being forced to give up their faith,” said Tehmina Arora, Director of Advocacy, Asia for ADF International. “We are grateful that Shahida Bibi has received justice over her captor. Shahida is now free and able to begin the process of healing from this ordeal. These cases are a tremendous violation of these young women’s basic human rights, including their religious freedom.”  

ADF International and allied lawyers are engaged in supporting women and girls suffering from forced marriage in light of the recurring issue where women and girls, often Christian, are forced to convert to Islam for their marriage to be validated by a Sharia court.  

Girls from minority religions face acute risk globally  

Under Sharia law, which permits marriage at the age of puberty, the marriage age is lower than the official marriage age, which varies between 16 and 18 years in different Pakistani states. When girls are forced to convert, their parents often are unable to stop the violation from happening. These women and girls often are fearful for their lives and those of their families, preventing them from denouncing their captors. 

“While these forced conversion and marriage abuses happen across the globe, they are especially prevalent in Pakistan. In coordination with our allied lawyers in the country, we are taking every step possible to prevent these situations from occurring. The government has an opportunity to make a difference, and they should start by implementing a uniform age for marriage to prevent these forced kidnappings and marriages from happening in the first place. Every person under international law has the right to freely choose and live out their faith without fear of violence. Every state, including Pakistan, must ensure that their laws and policies are in line with their commitments to protect religious freedom under international law, and that the laws they do have in place to protect girls from these violations are enforced,” Arora continued.   

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International spotlight on Pakistan 

The victory in Shahida Bibi’s case comes as human rights leaders from across the globe are turning their attention to Pakistan’s egregious human rights violations.  

In January 2025, officials from the European Union issued a warning to Pakistan regarding their human rights violations, including blasphemy laws, forced conversions, and other targeted persecution against religious minorities. If not addressed, Pakistan’s trade relations with the EU could be jeopardized. 

In 2024, Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), James Lankford (R-OK), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced a bipartisan resolution that called for the U.S. to “leverage all diplomatic and sanctions tools available to the United States Government to hold religious freedom violators accountable for their actions”. The resolution specifically points to religious freedom violations, including forced marriages and conversions, in Pakistan, among other countries. The resolution was widely supported by religious freedom advocates and organizations from across the globe.  

ADF International has highlighted the testimonies of survivors of forced marriages and conversions in a mini-documentary.  

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WIN in Pakistan for Christian fraudulently “converted” by employer in attempted enslavement

Pakistani Man Masih Christian.
  • Sufyan Masih, a 24-year-old Pakistani Christian, was fraudulently designated as a Muslim on his National Identity Card by his employer to falsely “convert” and enslave him. 
  • Authorities in Pakistan systemically deny and delay changes to ID cards with significant human rights implications; Backed by ADF International, Masih’s identity card has been corrected to “Christian” after a 6–year legal ordeal. 

Pictured: Sufyan Masih

Kasur District, Pakistan (04 March 2025) Sufyan Masih, a 24-year-old brick kiln worker and Christian, has been legally allowed to register as a Christian following a 6-year-long legal ordeal in Pakistan. Masih was fraudulently “converted” and registered by his employer as a Muslim on his National Identity Card. The employer registered Masih as a Muslim in an attempt to enslave him, including withholding pay and prohibiting him from returning to his family. The employer claimed that he “adopted” Masih when he fraudulently switched his identity to a Muslim. 

Masih and all his family members are illiterate and could not understand the ID form. His case is just one of the many examples of targeted harassment through the National Identity Card system. 

In a May 2024 verdict, a civil judge in Pakistan rejected Masih’s petition to change his identity to Christian despite his testimony that he was not practicing the Islamic religion. Authorities in Pakistan deny and delay changes to ID cards once someone is registered as Muslim on the basis of the belief that everyone is born Muslim. Muslims are not allowed to change their religion on the ID cards. A change in religion on ID cards is only allowed when you are able to show that there was an error in the record or when you are converting to Islam. As stated by civil judge Mian Usman Tariq in Masih’s 2024 trial: “Islam teaches that everyone is Muslim at birth but the parents and society cause one to deviate from the straight path”.  

Desperately attempting to recover their son, Masih’s family turned to ADF International for legal support. On appeal, a civil judge in Pakistan has now upheld Masih’s right to correct his identity card to reflect his Christian faith, noting that Masih was a victim of false “conversion”. 

The end of Masih’s legal ordeal, just one of many examples of systematic religious persecution in Pakistan, comes as officials from the European Union issued a warning to Pakistan regarding its human rights violations, including blasphemy laws, forced conversions, and other targeted persecution against religious minorities. If not addressed, Pakistan’s trade relations with the EU could be jeopardized. 

“We are thankful that Sufyan Masih finally is able to freely live and identify as a Christian following so many years of extreme hardship,” said Tehmina Arora, ADF International’s Director of Advocacy for Asia.  

“This is yet another example of how laws in Pakistan are weaponized to punish and target Christians. Pakistani authorities make it extremely difficult to “stop” being a Muslim once you are designated as such. This presents a major problem for Christians like Sufyan when they are illegally converted to Islam on their identification documents, which is a pervasive problem and egregious violation of religious freedom. We are grateful for the precedent that is set by this victory, and hopeful that it will go on to protect Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan who are unjustly persecuted because of their faith.”  

Case Background 

ADF International allied lawyers filed a petition on Masih’s behalf in September 2022 after the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) in Pakistan refused to accept Masih’s requests to correct his religious designation and his name on his national identity card. During the proceedings, allied lawyers submitted evidence, including Masih’s baptism certificate, and presented Masih’s Christian parents in court as evidence of his Christian identity. In addition, Masih himself told the court that he continued to practice his Christian faith and was not a Muslim. 

Following the May 2024 verdict in which  a civil judge rejected Masih’s petition to identify as Christian, ADF International’s allied lawyers challenged the civil court’s decision in the court of Ahmad Saeed, an additional district judge in Pattoki, who in November 2024 set aside the earlier verdict, holding that Masih was a victim of fraudulent “conversion” by his employers.  

Following this court decision, Masih has been able to get his National Identity Card correctly updated to reflect his Christian faith.  

Denial of Religious Freedom 

Apostasy is considered a sin punishable by death under most schools of Islamic jurisprudence. Although there is no specific law in Pakistan to deny Muslims their right to change religion, apostasy may be punished under Section 295-A of the country’s blasphemy statutes, which imposes up to two years imprisonment for “outraging the religious feelings of any class of citizens.”  

In this case, Masih faced the risk of being branded as an apostate or his family members being accused of blasphemy given the appearance that he was converting away from Islam to Christianity, although in reality he was never a Muslim. 

International law guarantees the freedom to change one’s religion, along with the right to practice it either publicly and privately. Pakistan is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which enshrines the right of every person “to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” 

“What has happened to Masih and hundreds of others who suffer similar legal abuses in Pakistan is a clear violation of the right to religious freedom guaranteed under international human rights law. Further, Article 20 of Pakistan’s Constitution allows citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion. Masih’s case shows how this fundamental right is being systematically denied, perpetuating a culture where Christians and other religious minorities suffer violations of their basic human rights,” Arora continued. 

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Mexican Government Ignores Inquiry from International Human Rights Body Into Politician Censored and Convicted for Twitter/X posts on Gender

Mexican Congressman Gabriel Quadri.
  • Former Mexican congressman and presidential candidate Gabriel Quadri was convicted as a “political violator against women” for Twitter/X posts on gender. 
  • ADF International represents Quadri before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Mexico has failed to respond, prompting expedited consideration before the body. 

WASHINGTON, DC (18 February 2025) Gabriel Quadri, a former congressman and presidential candidate from Mexico, was convicted in May 2022 as a “political violator against women” for posts on Twitter/X expressing concerns about gender ideology. Specifically, Quadri commented that it was unfair for men who identify as women to take spaces in Mexico’s Congress reserved for women. 

The highest electoral court in Mexico ruled that Quadri’s posts were discriminatory and ordered him to delete his posts, issue a compelled public apology, and be registered as a gender-based political violator—censorship measures that infringed on his civil and political rights as a Mexican citizen and breach his human right to free speech. 

Quadri appealed to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights with the legal support of ADF International, demanding that the Mexican state be held accountable for violating his freedom of expression. In March of last year, the Mexican government was prompted to respond to the case. Failing to do so, the Commission has announced that Quadri’s case will be moving forward without Mexico’s response.  

“Mexico’s failure to respond to Gabriel Quadri’s case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights evinces a clear disregard for the basic human right to free speech. We are pleased that his case nevertheless will progress, and are hopeful that Mexico will be held accountable for its obvious human rights violations,” stated Julio Pohl, legal counsel for ADF International. 

“The Mexican government has seriously violated Quadri’s free expression rights, and it’s time for the Commission to act decisively for justice in his case and in defense of the free speech rights of all Mexicans.” 

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“Gender based political violence” conviction  

Mexico has in place a law requiring equal representation of men and women in Congress. Quadri’s Twitter/X posts made the point that it is unjust for males to take advantage of the law to gain access to political positions designated for women.   

On February 8, 2022, Quadri posted on Twitter/X: “We should legislate to prevent that men that make themselves pass as women compete unfairly against women in organized sports, and that they do not usurp the political electoral positions that belong to women…”   

On February 16, 2022, he posted: “Let it be clear. In the House of Representatives of the 65th Legislature there is no parity between men and women. There are 252 men and 248 women, thanks to trans ideology and/or gender ideology. Men enter through the back door to (once again) displace women…”   

Salma Luévano, a MORENA then-member of Congress who identifies as a transgender woman, filed a complaint regarding the posts before the National Electoral Institute resulting in Quadri’s conviction. Luévano gained notoriety for fomenting unrest within Mexico’s Congress, including an incident where the president of the chamber was physically wrestled from his chair amidst calls to expel Quadri from the chamber.   

The Court ordered the following punitive measures following Quadri’s conviction: requirements to (i) delete the tweets, (ii) issue a public apology drafted by the Court and post a summary of the ruling on Twitter/X for 15 days, at two set times per day, (iii) complete two courses on gender-based violence and transgender violence, and (iv) be listed as a “gender-based political violator” on a national registry for two years and nine months.   

With the exhaustion of domestic remedies, ADF International petitioned the Inter-American Commission for justice for Quadri in December 2022. In January 2024, more than a year from the filing, the Commission called on the government of Mexico to respond. Now in 2025, after a failure by the Mexican government to respond, the case is moving forward within the Commission. 

Former Mexican Congressman Rodrigo Iván Cortés also was convicted for “gender based political violence” for social media posts. His case is pending before the Commission.     

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As Rumble Returns to Brazil, International Free Speech Expert Investigates Brazilian Censorship Crisis with Visit

Brazil censorship
  • Rumble returns to Brazil just before Special Rapporteur for Free Expression meets with Brazilian lawmakers to investigate Brazil’s free speech violations.  
  • ADF International is representing five Brazilian lawmakers before the Inter-American Commission, asking the body to hold Brazil accountable for egregious censorship. 

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BRAZIL (17 FEBRUARY 2025): The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Special Rapporteur for Free Expression, Pedro Vaca, conducted an official visit to Brazil this week to investigate ongoing free speech violations by Brazilian authorities. The investigation follows multiple filings with the Commission as a result of escalating state censorship in the country, dating back to 2019, reaching a head in September with the suspension of X (Twitter). 

Vaca met with Brazilian lawmakers, whose censorship case is represented by ADF International before the Inter-American Commission. His visit follows the return of Rumble, a free speech video platform, to Brazil on February 9th. The platform had withdrawn its services in the country due to censorship demands.  

Julio Pohl, legal counsel for ADF International, stated:  

“Every Brazilian has the human right to free speech, but the fact is that millions of Brazilians have been subjected to unlawful censorship. The Special Rapporteur’s visit to Brazil signals that Brazil’s egregious human rights violations have not gone unnoticed. While the return of Rumble is an excellent step, there is significant work to be done. Censorship has no place in a free society, and it’s time for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to exercise its authority to hold Brazil accountable for the clampdown on free speech.” 

Marcel van Hattem, member of the Chamber of Deputies for Brazil and one of the legislators who filed the petition, commented:   

“We must continue to push back against censorship in our country, and put a stop to those who are abusing their power. What we have seen time and again in Brazil is an egregious silencing of political voices, citizens, journalists, or anyone who might share different viewpoints from Judge Alexandre de Moraes, President Lula da Silva, or others in control. We can’t afford to lose Brazil to authoritarianism, and I am grateful to the Special Rapporteur for taking an urgent look at this crisis. These attempts to silence and censor cannot be allowed to stand.” 

Brazilian lawmakers and freedom of speech advocates

Left to right: Senator Eduardo Girao, Members of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Van Hattem, Adriana Ventura, Ricardo Salles and Gilson Marques.

The Commission has jurisdiction over Brazil as a State Party to the American Convention on Human Rights. The American Convention robustly protects freedom of speech. 

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“Litmus Test” Court Case Against Government Censorship of Musk’s “X” to be Heard Next Month, Australia

Billboard Chris' case will be heard in Australia in March

  • As Australia prepares for a national puberty blocker review, a court battle ensues regarding censorship of voices opposed to gender ideology 

  • “X” post highlighting unsuitability of transgender activist serving on WHO “panel of experts” currently geo-blocked in Australia 

  • Musk’s “X” and Canadian internet star “Billboard Chris” to bring case against Australian “e-Safety Commissioner” over censored post, March 31st  

Billboard Chris' case will be heard in Australia in March

MELBOURNE (13 February 2025) – As Australia faces a significant review into the use of so-called “gender-affirming care” on children, including through the administration of toxic “puberty blockers”, the government is preparing to face court for censoring critics of gender ideology and its harm on children. 

Chris Elston, known as Billboard Chris, a Canadian father of two, took to “X” (formerly Twitter) on 28th February 2024 to share a Daily Mail article titled “Kinky secrets of a UN trans expert REVEALED”.

"This is a serious issue with real world implications, and we need to be able to discuss it."."

- Chris Elston (a.k.a. "Billboard Chris")

The article, and accompanying tweet, criticised the suitability of Australian transgender activist Teddy Cook to be appointed to a World Health Organization “panel of experts” set to advise on global transgender policy. 

Cook complained about the post to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, who requested that “X” remove the content. The social media platform owned by free speech advocate Elon Musk initially refused, but following a subsequent formal removal order from the Commission, later geo-blocked the content in Australia. X has since also filed an appeal against the order at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Melbourne. 

Billboard Chris, with the support of ADF International and the Australian Human Rights Law Alliance, and alongside Elon Musk’s “X”, is appealing the violation of his right to peacefully share his convictions.  

The case will be heard in Melbourne on the week beginning March 31st. 

Members of the public are invited to join in supporting Chris’s legal case here: https://adfinternational.org/campaign/support-billboard-chris  

Chris Elston, a.k.a “Billboard Chris”, commented:

“No child has ever been born in the wrong body. As a father, I have grave concerns about the impact of harmful gender ideology on our children’s wellbeing. This reality is being increasingly recognised around the world, with government after government ordering a review into the use of toxic puberty blockers. This is a serious issue with real world implications for families across the globe and we need to be able to discuss it. 

“Children struggling with distress regarding their sex deserve better than ‘guidelines’ written by activists who only want to push them in one direction,” said Billboard Chris, engaging in a legal battle for free speech with support from ADF International. 

Ahead of the court date, Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International, who is serving as part of Billboard Chris’s legal team, said: 

“This significant legal showdown with Australian authorities represents a litmus test for free speech in a world seeing increasing push back against global censorship.  

“We’re used to hearing about governments silencing or punishing citizens for their ‘wrong’ speech in parts of the world with strict blasphemy laws – but now, from Australia, to Mexico, to across the EU, we see Western governments increasingly take authoritarian steps to shut down views they don’t like, often by branding them as “offensive”, “hateful”, or “misinformation.”  

“In a free society, ideas should be challenged with ideas, not state censorship. For years, Chris has been speaking an important truth to which many in Australia are now waking up – children cannot consent to puberty blockers.  

We’re proud to stand with Billboard Chris in defending the right to live and speak the truth.” 

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Pictured: Chris Elston (“Billboard Chris”); Elston with the ADF International team supporting his legal defence; Robert Clarke, Director of Advocacy for ADF International

UN Expert Welcomes United States Executive Order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” 

US announces no more males in female sports
  • Executive Order sends “clear message” that “the rights of women and girls to female-only spaces, including in sports, matter”, says UN Expert
  • Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women & Girls, previously warned that permitting males in women’s sports would be incompatible with US international human rights obligations
US announces no more males in female sports

GENEVA (12 February 2025) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, has welcomed the US government’s executive order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sport”. The executive order, issued on 5 February, reinforces the necessity of maintaining sex-based categories in sports to safeguard fairness, safety, and dignity for female athletes. 

“This decision reaffirms the importance of maintaining sex-based categories in sports, thereby safeguarding equal opportunities for women and girls,” Alsalem said.  

“Most notably, it mandates the preservation of all-female athletic opportunities and locker rooms, ensuring privacy and dignity for women and girls. This executive order sends a clear message that the rights of women and girls to female-only spaces, including in sports, matter,” Alsalem added. 

"This decision reaffirms the importance of maintaining sex-based categories in sports, thereby safeguarding equal opportunities for women and girls."

- Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women & Girls

“The US government’s clear stand for women and girls in sport carries tremendous global significance. The executive order commits to advocating for international rules and norms that protect a sex-based female sports category—a pivotal step for fairness and safety in female sports across the globe. Its emphasis on working with the United Nations and international sporting bodies has the potential to restore the right of women and girls to fair competition and safe sporting spaces. As the Special Rapporteur highlights, now the international community must cooperate on this critical human rights issue,” responded Giorgio Mazzoli, director of UN advocacy for ADF International. 

The executive order commits the administration to “promote, including at the United Nations, international rules and norms governing sports competition to protect a sex-based female sports category”. The Special Rapporteur welcomed the commitment to advocating for international rules at the UN to protect a sex-based female sports category. 

Alsalem previously warned the Biden administration that permitting males in women’s sports would be incompatible with US international human rights obligations. Her report highlighting how “huge numbers” of female athletes have lost opportunities to male athletes garnered viral attention last year. 

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Pictured:

(1,2) Female athletes supported by Alliance Defending Freedom;

(3,4) Reem Alsalem, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls

(5) Giorgio Mazzoli, Director of UN Advocacy

Christian Convert From Islam Freed After Imprisonment Over Facebook Posts

  • Contributor to Facebook group for Christian converts from Islam has been freed after over three years in detention 
  • Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, father of 5, withstood severe conditions – and period of hunger strike – before being released from prison this month, with support from ADF International

CAIRO (2 February 2025) – The father of 5 imprisoned for participating in a private Facebook group about converting to Christianity from Islam has been freed from detention after 3 years – but his case remains open.

Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, originally from Yemen, was part of a Christian Facebook group that discussed Islamic theology and apologetics. In 2021, Abdo was arrested while he was living as a UNHCR-registered asylum seeker in Egypt. He had originally fled to Egypt because he faced death threats in Yemen after converting to Christianity.  

"It isn’t right that a government should tear me away from my family, keep me in these awful conditions, only because of the faith in which I peacefully choose to believe."

- Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo

He was moved between several detention centers throughout his three years of imprisonment, even undergoing a hunger strike within his final six months in an act of desperation. The husband and father of five suffered from poor health in relation to his heart, liver, and kidneys. 

“I endured many hardships in prison. It isn’t right that a government should tear me away from my family, keep me in these awful conditions, only because of the faith in which I peacefully choose to believe. 

“I thank everyone who prayed for me while I was in prison, cared about and followed up on my case, and shared the joy of my release from prison,” commented Abdo upon his release. 

Abdo’s son, Husam Baqi, added: 

“It is hideous that individuals are not allowed to believe and express their beliefs freely and are imprisoned or killed for their faith.”

"This case shows the extremity of unchecked government censorship in the online age."

- Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo

Abdo continues to fight his open legal battle with support from ADF International, who helped secure his release by submitting his case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 

A Global Trend of Online Censorship

Commenting on the case, Kelsey Zorzi, Director of Advocacy for Religious Freedom for ADF International, said: 

“The arbitrary detention of this husband and father without a criminal trial, and the lack of an opportunity for him to defend himself against alleged offenses, constitutes a severe violation of human rights. 

“The peaceful expression of one’s religious convictions cannot be a crime – not in Egypt, nor anywhere else in the world. This case shows the extremity of unchecked government censorship in the online age. The world must take note.” 

Support from around the World

While Abdo sufered in prison, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, described his unfair treatment as “grotesque”. 

“The imprisonment of Yemeni refugee Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo at the hands of Egyptian authorities is a surreal example of censorial blasphemy policies in action,” she said.  

Previously a prominent atheist, Ali announced in November that she was converting to Christianity. Because of her outspoken rhetoric against the Muslim Brotherhood, she faces constant death threats.  

“This is the logical conclusion to a trend that empowers authorities to brutalize innocent people for free expression on social media. From China to Pakistan, from Russia to Syria, from the UK to Egypt—free speech must urgently be defended from our age’s resurgent Stalinism,” she added.

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PICTURED: Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo; Kelsey Zorzi, ADF International

European Politicians Call for Social Media Censorship and Attack X and Meta’s Free Speech Policies as ‘Threat to Democracy’

  • X-owner Elon Musk accused of being in ‘conspiracy’ with ‘populists and the far right’ during debate at the Council of Europe

  • UK Labour MP called out by MEP for criticising Mr Musk and Meta’s free speech policy and for voicing ‘support for Britain’s notoriously heavy-handed prosecutions for social media posts during last summer’s riots’

  • ADF International executive director Paul Coleman: ‘We are living in a new bipolar order of speech’ between Europe and USA

STRASBOURG (1 February 2025) – European politicians on Thursday called for social media censorship to “protect democracy” and criticised X and Meta’s free speech policies during a debate at the Council of Europe.

Politicians at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) called for censorship, in the form of tackling so-called “misinformation”, “disinformation” and “hate speech” online, and voted in favour of a report on social media content regulation.

This follows the European Union last week doubling down on online censorship through the Digital Services Act (DSA), with the same justification of “protecting democracy”.

During Thursday night’s debate, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg were singled out as threatening democracy with their free speech policies.

Belgian politician Christophe Lacroix said: “Why is Elon Musk in the US government?… There is a conspiracy, in any case a conjunction of interests between populists and the far right and the billionaire owners of social networks to effectively interfere in the electoral process.”

UK Labour MP Cat Eccles said Mr Musk’s “rise of influence” was “something we should all be worried about” and criticised Meta for its new free speech policy, which she characterised as “abandoning fact checking”.

She also indicated support for the notoriously heavy-handed prosecutions for social media posts during Britain’s riots last summer, saying: “While we must value freedom of expression, we must remember that it does not protect individuals from the consequences of their actions. In the UK we saw this play out recently with the horrendous Southport murders last summer and subsequent riots, with people arrested and charged for inciting hatred and violence on all sides.”

French politician Sandra Regol said free speech online posed a threat to “our democracy” and “diversity”.

She said: “We’ve heard a lot about freedom of expression. It’s supposed to be the guarantor of this diversity, it’s supposed to be the guarantor of our democracies and, in a crazy, absolute reversal of values, it’s now the tool that’s destroying this diversity.”

Three amendments were proposed in Thursday’s debate to preserve freedom of expression and they were all rejected.

But an amendment to the report calling for collaborating “with journalists and fact-checking organisations to effectively combat disinformation” was adopted by two-thirds majority.

This puts Europe further at odds with the US regarding free speech, after President Trump last week signed an executive order to end federal government censorship. 

Luxembourg MEP Fernand Kartheiser said:

“Free speech is under serious threat in Europe. It was deeply concerning to see politicians at the Council of Europe calling for online censorship in the name of ‘protecting democracy’.

“Democracy is impossible without free speech, but for some reason, too many politicians, including from the UK, can’t seem to grasp this.

“Labour MP Cat Eccles voiced support for Britain’s notoriously heavy-handed prosecutions for social media posts during last summer’s riots in the country.

“European politicians should consider how their support for censorship and their attacks on the free speech policies of American citizens Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg’s platforms will affect our relationship with our vital ally the United States.

“The US has made its commitment to free speech clear and US Vice President JD Vance already threatened last year to withdraw US support for NATO if the EU censors X.

“For the sake of truly preserving European democracy and also good relations with America, all attempts to impose censorship in Europe, including through the Digital Services Act, must end.”

Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, a global organisation dedicated to protecting fundamental freedoms, including at the European institutions, stated:

“We are living in a new bipolar order of speech. On the one hand, Europe is doubling down on censorship, while the US is recommitting to its free speech heritage.

“This will usher in an unprecedented era of tension within the West itself over this most basic of human rights, and it is the responsibility of all who value freedom to side with the protection of free speech.”

EU doubled down on social media censorship with DSA last week

Last week, the European Commissioner in charge of enforcing the DSA, Henna Virkkunen, announced a number of measures to further crack down on speech, including doubling the number of staff working on enforcement from 100 to 200 by the end of 2025.

The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into full force in February 2024, is an EU regulation that aims to tackle “misinformation”, “disinformation”, and “hate speech” online.

By requiring the removal of so-called “illegal content” on social media platforms, it censors free speech both within and outside the EU and could even affect the speech of US citizens online.

On the DSA, Mr Coleman commented:

“Last week, the European Commission made clear that it will be increasing its efforts to suppress speech, arguing that the Digital Services Act is needed to ‘protect democracy’ from so-called ‘misinformation’, ‘disinformation’ and ‘hate speech’ online.

“As we saw clearly from Thierry Breton’s letter to Elon Musk this summer, warning him not to breach the DSA ahead of his interview with Donald Trump, the DSA will be used to censor views disfavoured by those in power.

“The DSA poses a grave threat to the fundamental right to freedom of expression, guaranteed to every person under international law. It is not the place of any authority to impose a narrow view of acceptable speech on the rest of society.

“The effects of the DSA will not be confined to Europe. There are legitimate worries that the DSA could censor the speech of citizens across the world, as social media companies could regulate their content globally to comply with European standards.”

Other measures announced by Commissioner Virkkunen included making a previously voluntary code of conduct on “illegal hate speech online” legally binding and advancing a framework called the European Democracy Shield (EDS).

The EDS uses fact checkers and NGOs to combat so-called “foreign information manipulation, interference, and disinformation”.

Under the DSA, social media platforms can face massive fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover for failing to remove so-called “misinformation”, “disinformation” and “hate speech”.

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