{"id":68438,"date":"2025-01-24T19:20:57","date_gmt":"2025-01-24T18:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/?p=68438"},"modified":"2025-01-25T09:37:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-25T08:37:16","slug":"eu-social-media-censorship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/news\/eu-social-media-censorship","title":{"rendered":"EU doubles down on social media censorship that \u2018will not be confined to Europe\u2019 following concerns about Musk\u2019s free speech policy on X"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"68438\" class=\"elementor elementor-68438\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-63548f10 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"63548f10\" 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-7ac94f68\" data-id=\"7ac94f68\" 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-7563dae4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7563dae4\" 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>Members of the European Parliament debated controversial Digital Services Act on Tuesday, which censors free speech both within and outside the EU, and could affect America<\/li><li>EU\u2019s censorship stance in marked contrast with US, where President Trump this week signed Executive Order to end government censorship<\/li><\/ul>\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-6891f9b4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-theme-post-featured-image elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6891f9b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"theme-post-featured-image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_2015-10-28_01-1-1024x683.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-68450\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_2015-10-28_01-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_2015-10-28_01-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_2015-10-28_01-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/adfinternational.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/European_Parliament_Strasbourg_2015-10-28_01-1.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\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-6034b8cc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6034b8cc\" 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 class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\"><strong>STRASBOURG (24 January)<\/strong> &#8211; The European Union this week doubled down on social media censorship to \u201cprotect democracy\u201d from \u201cforeign interference\u201d, following concerns about Elon Musk\u2019s free speech policy on X.<\/span><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">The Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into full force in February 2024, is an EU regulation that aims to tackle \u201cmisinformation\u201d, \u201cdisinformation\u201d, and \u201chate speech\u201d online. <\/span><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">By requiring the removal of so-called \u201cillegal content\u201d on social media platforms, it censors free speech both within and outside the EU and could even affect the speech of US citizens online. <\/span><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) debated enforcement of the controversial act on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">MEP <\/span><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\">Iratxe Garc\u00eda, leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, commented: <\/span><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\">\u201cIn recent months, we have seen how Elon Musk and his social network X have become the main promoter for the far right by supporting Donald Trump and Alice Weidel&#8217;s AfD party through fake news and hate messages.<\/span><\/i><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><i><span style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;\">\u201c<\/span><\/i><i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">We have also witnessed Mark Zuckerberg\u2019s decision to remove fact-checking programs on Meta as an act of complicity with lies and manipulation\u2026 We must ensure the effective application of our rules and we must sanction those who break the rules.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><p class=\"MsoNormal\"><i><\/i><span lang=\"EN-GB\" style=\"font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/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-10dac8b4 elementor-blockquote--skin-border elementor-widget elementor-widget-blockquote\" data-id=\"10dac8b4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"blockquote.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<blockquote class=\"elementor-blockquote\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"elementor-blockquote__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span style=\"color: #AF272F\">\u201cWe are living in a new bipolar order of speech. <\/span>On the one hand, Europe is doubling down on censorship, while the US is recommitting to its free speech heritage.\"\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-q-footer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"elementor-blockquote__author\">- Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\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-7a4b4d40 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7a4b4d40\" 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>This puts the EU\u2019s online free speech stance in stark opposition to that of the US, following President Trump this week signing an Executive Order to end government censorship.<\/p><p>Although Virkkunen claimed the DSA \u201cdoes not censor content\u201d, MEPs from across the political spectrum voiced well-founded concerns that, in fact, it does.<\/p><p>Hungarian MEP Schaller-Baross Ern\u0151 said:<\/p><p><em>\u201c<\/em><em>Let&#8217;s call a spade a spade! In its current form, the DSA can also serve as a tool for political censorship\u2026<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cI&#8217;m afraid that in Europe the left\u2026 is not learning again. But this DSA must be abolished in this form. We don&#8217;t need more officials in Europe who censor\u2026<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cFreedom of expression and equal conditions must be ensured. This is the foundation of our democracy. Let&#8217;s say no to political censorship!\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>Polish MEP Ewa Zaj\u0105czkowska-Hernik said:<\/p><p><em>\u201cFor you, democracy is when people think, write and speak directly and say what you tell them to with your leftist way of thinking. <\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cRight-wing and conservative views are \u2018thought crime\u2019 and today&#8217;s debate should be called \u2018The need to strengthen censorship to protect the trough of those who govern the European Union\u2019.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p>In addition to institutionalising censorship, the DSA also lays the ground for <a href=\"https:\/\/dsa-observatory.eu\/2024\/08\/06\/the-dsas-first-shadow-banning-case\/\">shadow banning<\/a>, which was highlighted in this week\u2019s debate.<\/p><p>Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, a global organisation dedicated to the protection of fundamental freedoms, including at the EU institutions, stated:<\/p><p><em>\u201cOn Monday, President Trump signed an executive order to end the weaponisation of the US government to promote censorship.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cOn Tuesday, the European Commission made clear that it will be\u00a0increasing\u00a0its efforts to suppress speech, arguing that the Digital Services Act is needed to \u2018protect democracy\u2019 from so-called \u2018misinformation\u2019, \u2018disinformation\u2019 and \u2018hate speech\u2019 online.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cWe are living in a new bipolar order of speech. On the one hand,\u00a0Europe is doubling down on censorship, while the US is recommitting to its free speech heritage.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cThis will usher in an unprecedented era of tension\u00a0within the West itself\u00a0over this most basic of human rights, and it is the responsibility of all who value freedom to side with the protection of free speech.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cAs we saw clearly from Thierry Breton\u2019s letter to Elon Musk this summer, warning him not to breach the DSA ahead of his interview with Trump, the DSA will be used to censor views disfavoured by those in power. <\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cThe DSA poses a grave threat to the fundamental right to freedom of expression, guaranteed to every person under international law. I<\/em><em>t is not the place of any authority to impose a narrow view of acceptable speech on the rest of society.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p><strong>US Response to DSA<\/strong><\/p><p>In response to former Commissioner Thierry Breton\u2019s letter to Musk this summer, Congressman Jim Jordan, chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee, <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2024-09-10%20JDJ%20to%20Breton%20re%20response.pdf\">wrote a strongly worded letter<\/a> to Mr Breton.<\/p><p>In it, he said:<\/p><p><em>\u201cWe write to reiterate our position that the EU\u2019s burdensome regulation of online speech must not infringe on protected American speech\u2026<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cYour threats against free speech do not occur in a vacuum, and the consequences are not limited to Europe. The harms caused by EU-imposed censorship spill across international borders, as many platforms generally maintain one set of content moderation policies that they apply globally.<\/em><\/p><p><em>\u201cThus, the EU\u2019s regulatory censorship regime may limit what content Americans can view in the United States. American companies also have an enormous incentive to comply with the DSA and public threats from EU commissioners like you.\u201d<\/em><\/p><p><strong>Increasing Censorship Efforts<\/strong><\/p><p>Other measures announced by Virkkunen this week include making a previously voluntary code of conduct on \u201cillegal hate speech online\u201d legally binding and advancing a framework called the European Democracy Shield (EDS).<\/p><p>The EDS uses fact checkers and NGOs to combat so-called \u201cforeign information manipulation, interference, and disinformation\u201d.<\/p><p>Anyone, be it an individual or an entity, can flag content they believe to be illegal.<\/p><p>Under the DSA, social media platforms can face massive fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover for failing to remove so-called \u201cmisinformation\u201d, \u201cdisinformation\u201d and \u201chate speech\u201d.<\/p><p>The concept of \u201chate speech\u201d has no basis in international human rights law.<\/p><p>Because of their loose and vague nature, prohibitions on \u201chate speech\u201d rely on the subjective perception of offended parties rather than objective harm.<\/p><p>Further, the definition of \u201chate speech\u201d is not harmonised at the EU level, meaning that what is deemed illegal in one country may not be in another.<\/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-3433f8ab elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"3433f8ab\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\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-1eb36cf1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"1eb36cf1\" 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class=\"elementor-gallery-item__overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\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>Members of the European Parliament debated controversial Digital Services Act on Tuesday, which censors free speech both within and outside the EU, and could affect America EU\u2019s censorship stance in marked contrast with US, where President Trump this week signed Executive Order to end government censorship STRASBOURG (24 January) &#8211; The European Union this week [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":68450,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1254,633,1256,1255,64,219],"class_list":["post-68438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-digital-services-act","tag-elon-musk","tag-european-commission","tag-european-union","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-paul-coleman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>EU Doubles Down on Social Media Censorship - ADF International<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The European Union this week doubled down on social media censorship to \u201cprotect democracy\u201d from \u201cforeign interference\u201d.\" \/>\n<meta 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