{"id":74767,"date":"2025-06-25T14:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=74767"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:32:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:32:15","slug":"the-digital-services-act-and-online-speech-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa","title":{"rendered":"The Digital Services Act and Online Speech in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"74767\" class=\"elementor elementor-74767\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9cb7998 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9cb7998\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-006b6ae\" data-id=\"006b6ae\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f7a8b8d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f7a8b8d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Given the wide array of anti-speech laws throughout EU countries, the DSA allows the worst laws in any individual country to restrict speech across the entire bloc<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4089ab6 elementor-author-box--layout-image-left elementor-author-box--align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"4089ab6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/our-team\/paul-coleman\" class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Paul-Coleman-400x400-1-300x300.webp\" alt=\"Bild von Paul Coleman\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/our-team\/paul-coleman\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaul Coleman\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__bio\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Executive Director, ADF International<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac89743 e-grid-align-left elementor-shape-rounded elementor-grid-0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-social-icons\" data-id=\"ac89743\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"social-icons.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-social-icons-wrapper elementor-grid\" role=\"list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-x-twitter elementor-repeater-item-089a378\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Paul_B_Coleman\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">X-twitter<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fab fa-x-twitter\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-grid-item\" role=\"listitem\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-icon elementor-social-icon elementor-social-icon-linkedin elementor-repeater-item-9cea009\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/paul-coleman-41568313a\/\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-screen-only\">Linkedin<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i>\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6f8b400 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6f8b400\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-77098a5\" data-id=\"77098a5\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32c0733 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"32c0733\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We are living in an unprecedented time in Western history for freedom of expression. With the fall of the Soviet Union, some made the claim that the \u201cEnd of History\u201d had arrived.<\/p><p>An era in which free speech would flourish in a world of liberal democracies and free markets. But it\u2019s now clear that such hopes were sadly misplaced, and European societies are moving in an alarming direction.<\/p><p>Free speech is again under threat on this continent in a way it hasn\u2019t been since the nightmare of Europe\u2019s authoritarian regimes just a few decades ago. The internet is the frontline in this assault on free speech in Europe, particularly through the <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/digital-services-act-unpacked\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Digital Services Act<\/a>, which I will come to shortly.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0d172de elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0d172de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How We Got Here<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-a09462a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"a09462a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-91d965e\" data-id=\"91d965e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e78b5da elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e78b5da\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>But how did we get here? How did we get from the \u201cEnd of History\u201d and liberal democracy\u2019s promise of free speech for all to the censorship crisis we face today? <br \/>Two words that perhaps are not often mentioned favourably in this parliament go a long way in explaining the antecedents of the current effort to control online discourse: Brexit and Trump.<\/p><p>As the honorary Brit at this event, I hope you will forgive me for saying the \u201cb-word\u201d. But all jokes aside, those two democratic votes in 2016 sent shockwaves through the political and media establishment, who then scrambled to understand what went wrong at the ballot box, and how no one saw it coming.<\/p><p>And rather than examining whether perhaps some of their mistaken beliefs about reality, assumptions about the citizenry, or missteps in governance may have been responsible for these seismic votes, those in power decided to blame so-called \u201cmisinformation\u201d instead.<\/p><p>In other words, the people were tricked. Hundreds of millions of citizens were so prone to manipulation and brainwashing that they stupidly, wrongly, and ignorantly voted the \u201cwrong\u201d way. And such wrong voting must never happen again if democracy is to be saved. Hence, with no sense of irony whatsoever, the claim that democracy must be saved through censorship took hold \u2013 here in Brussels and across the Western world.<\/p><p>The European establishment\u2019s response to outcomes it did not foresee or desire was stark and immediate, as new draconian anti-speech laws came into effect. Let me outline a few:\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1c2018b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1c2018b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-e8ac02a\" data-id=\"e8ac02a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d9289a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d9289a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><strong>2016<\/strong>: The EU Code of Conduct against \u201cillegal online hate speech\u201d was announced without any discussion or debate.<\/li><li><strong>2017<\/strong>: New national legislation such as the German Network Enforcement Act came into force.<\/li><li><strong>2018<\/strong>: The EU launched a world first with its Code of Practice on Disinformation \u2013 targeting online platforms.<\/li><li><strong>2019<\/strong>: The UN launched its Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech.<\/li><li><strong>2020<\/strong>: Covid-related provisions censored free speech around the world.<\/li><li><strong>2021<\/strong>: The European Commission announced a plan to make so-called \u201chate speech\u201d an EU-wide crime.<\/li><li><strong>2022<\/strong>: In came the <a href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/commentary\/eu-digital-services-act-one-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Digital Services Act<\/a>, with most of its provisions coming into force in February 2024.<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-553e502 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"553e502\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-87740b2\" data-id=\"87740b2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-30bce64 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"30bce64\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">\"Severe\" Threat to Online Speech<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-540bad0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"540bad0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Year after year, the relentless drive towards more and more speech restrictions continues \u2013 and it\u2019s almost always under the guise of banning so-called \u201chate speech\u201d and \u201cmis- and disinformation.\u201d These deliberately vague and subjective terms are rarely, if ever, defined in the legislation that seeks to ban them. And I am convinced that the lack of any meaningful definition is a design feature, not a bug.<\/p><p>And that brings me to the DSA itself \u2013 what I consider to be the most severe threat yet to free speech online. So, what precisely is so worrisome about this regulation? <br \/>The DSA purports to create \u201ca safe online environment\u201d by requiring very large online platforms, such as X or Meta, to remove \u201cillegal content\u201d.<\/p><p>This sounds ok so far. But when we look closer, the problems become apparent. <br \/>What, after all, is \u201cillegal content\u201d? Surely a law that runs to over 100 pages would define such a pivotal term in the most precise language possible?<\/p><p>Sadly not.<\/p><p>Article 3(h) gives us the circular definition that \u201cillegal content\u201d is anything that is not in compliance with EU law or the law of any Member State, now or at any point in the future. In other words, the DSA writes a blank cheque for censorship.<\/p><p>Given the wide array of anti-speech laws throughout EU countries, the DSA allows the worst laws in any individual country to restrict speech across the entire bloc. <br \/>And what happens in such a scenario?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a94e046 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a94e046\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">European Commission's Power Over Regulation<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-6bebadf elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"6bebadf\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-a433eb8\" data-id=\"a433eb8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7d4b656 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7d4b656\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Under the Act, the European Commission can impose crippling fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover on platforms that refuse to censor content \u2013 which could amount to billions of Euros.<\/p><p>The Commission can also restrict access to a platform within the EU\u202for suspend its operations, showing the massive power this Act gives them over private companies. Since companies are threatened with huge fines if they do not censor enough speech, and there is no penalty whatsoever for censoring too much speech, what do we think these companies will end up doing over time?<\/p><p>Moreover, individuals across the EU could have their speech limited under the most draconian \u201chate speech\u201d laws in any individual EU country due to the act. <br \/>The case of Finnish parliamentarian P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen, one of ADF International\u2019s clients, gives a harrowing example of what censorship under the DSA could look like in practice.<\/p><p>Six years ago, P\u00e4ivi posted a picture of a Bible verse and expressed her Christian views on sexuality on X. She was criminally prosecuted for alleged \u201chate speech\u201d and has been unanimously acquitted in two trials. But the state prosecutor has appealed the case again. And shockingly, her case\u2014in which she faces trial for posting online\u2014is now pending before Finland\u2019s Supreme Court.<\/p><p>Now, under the DSA, deeply problematic national laws restricting speech\u2014like the \u201chate speech\u201d legislation used to prosecute P\u00e4ivi \u2014could be broadly applied across the EU by this simple principle:<\/p><p>If it\u2019s considered illegal in one place, it could be in every place. And I do mean every place.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5bb643b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5bb643b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-497acbd\" data-id=\"497acbd\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fc74d36 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"fc74d36\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The United States Weighs In<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5b1e629 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5b1e629\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Even though the DSA is an EU regulation, since the internet is global and most speech platforms are global companies, its effects will not be confined to this continent. Vice President of the United States, JD Vance, already raised his concerns about the perilous state of freedom of expression in Europe during his Munich Security Conference speech.<\/p><p>Notably, the US has taken specific exception to this act, with both the US State Department and House Judiciary Committee raising concerns over it, and they have good reasons for doing so.<\/p><p>To name just two: Firstly, many of the companies the DSA targets, such as X and Meta, which could face massive fines for refusing to censor content, are American.<\/p><p>Secondly, we have already seen an example of a senior EU politician trying to use the act to censor speech in the United States.<\/p><p>Last summer, then-European Commissioner Thierry Breton shockingly wrote to Elon Musk ahead of his X interview with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, warning him not to breach the DSA in the conversation.<\/p><p>It is conceivable that in the future we could see more efforts like this to extend EU censorship to silence speech outside Europe. All those who care about free speech should not accept a transatlantic divide on this indispensable liberty, where the US recommits to freedom of expression\u2014as it has under the new administration\u2014while Europe tramples on it. I want to now offer concrete recommendations on how the censorial effects of the DSA can be addressed, as people in this room are in a real position to take action.<\/p><p>It is thankfully the case that freedom of expression is guaranteed in Article 11 of the EU Charter, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.<\/p><p>According to these and the jurisprudence of the ECHR, any limitations to free speech must be proportionate and necessary in a democratic society. And so, serious questions can and should be raised about whether the DSA is compatible with these binding obligations to protect freedom of expression. It is my strong view, as you may have guessed from this speech, that it is not. So, what can be done about this?<\/p><p>Member states could initiate an action for annulment before the Court of Justice of the European Union. Through this, the whole or parts of the DSA could be declared inapplicable, if they are deemed to infringe on the EU Charter or Treaties.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40d7bbc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"40d7bbc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Conclusion: The DSA Has a Far-Reaching Censorial Impact<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ce5743f elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ce5743f\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-62909b8\" data-id=\"62909b8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d70aacf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d70aacf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The same question, of considering whether the DSA is compatible with binding obligations to protect free speech, is key for the upcoming DSA review, in which the Commission must evaluate the act in view of other legal commitments.<\/p><p>It is imperative that every opportunity is taken in the review, which must occur by mid-November this year, to raise concerns about the censorial impact of the DSA.<\/p><p>This could be accomplished through written or oral questions to the European Commission and even by inviting Commissioner Henna Virkkunen to discuss the legislation in the European Parliament. After all, if the Commissioner is as in favour of freedom of expression as she claims to be, why would she refuse?<\/p><p>It is vital to include representatives of civil society, tech companies and digital rights groups in such conversations, as they can share their invaluable expertise on this important issue.<\/p><p>As elected representatives of your people, you are also in an excellent position to bring the public\u2019s attention to the grave risks to free speech posed by the DSA. The truth is that every single European\u2019s rights are jeopardized by this legislation. The more the public is aware of and speaks out about this, the more pressure the Commission will feel. And the more likely we are to defeat this law.<\/p><p>I want to close by emphatically stating that freedom of expression is essential for any society, and especially for democracies, to flourish. Those in positions of power turn to censorship because they don\u2019t trust democracy.<\/p><p>They fear the people will choose to speak and vote in a way that they object to. <br \/>But this censorial impulse must be rejected. There is a rich history of valuing free speech on this continent. Europeans can and must draw on that tradition again today. <\/p><p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; letter-spacing: 0px;\">.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Given the wide array of anti-speech laws throughout EU countries, the DSA allows the worst laws in any individual country to restrict speech across the entire bloc X-twitter Linkedin We are living in an unprecedented time in Western history for freedom of expression. With the fall of the Soviet Union, some made the claim that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":74001,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1314],"tags":[1112,63,1254,1331,1277,25,1012,64,1238,219],"class_list":["post-74767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-article","tag-brussels","tag-censorship","tag-digital-services-act","tag-dsa","tag-eu","tag-free-speech","tag-freedom-of-expression","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-online-censorship","tag-paul-coleman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Digital Services Act and Online Speech in Europe - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The drives towards banning more speech is almost always under the guise of banning so-called \u201chate speech\u201d and \u201cmis- and disinformation.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/de\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Digital Services Act and Online Speech in Europe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The drives towards banning more speech is almost always under the guise of banning so-called \u201chate speech\u201d and \u201cmis- and disinformation.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ADF International\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/adfinternational\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-25T12:32:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-25T12:32:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-21-at-10.03.39-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1366\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul Coleman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"The drives towards banning more speech is almost always under the guise of banning so-called \u201chate speech\u201d and \u201cmis- and disinformation.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@adfintl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul Coleman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Gesch\u00e4tzte Lesezeit\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 Minuten\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul Coleman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/de\/#\/schema\/person\/3cb4f8295a5927d6a6434c990fd820fd\"},\"headline\":\"The Digital Services Act and Online Speech in Europe\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-25T12:32:12+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-25T12:32:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\"},\"wordCount\":1764,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/de\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-05-21-at-10.03.39-1.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"brussels\",\"censorship\",\"digital services act\",\"dsa\",\"EU\",\"free speech\",\"freedom of expression\",\"freedom of speech\",\"online censorship\",\"Paul Coleman\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Article\"],\"inLanguage\":\"de-DE\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/article\/paul-coleman-dsa\",\"name\":\"The Digital Services Act and Online Speech in Europe - 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