If Europe can control American speech, our liberties are at risk |
If Europe can control American speech, our liberties are at risk
Who has power over your online speech? Ask most Americans that question, and they are likely to name tech giants like Meta, our elected representatives or federal agencies. Hopefully, some would mention our Constitution.
But few would agree to the idea that unelected bureaucrats in Europe can control what Americans see or say online. Yet that is increasingly a reality — and one that Elon Musk and X are challenging with a new lawsuit at the General Court of the European Union.
In a chilling attempt to enforce Europe’s Digital Services Act — a sweeping regulatory framework governing how “Very Large Online Platforms” moderate speech — the European Commission fined X $140 million, which it recently paid while the litigation is underway. Though enacted in Europe, the Digital Services Act is effectively global, as EU bureaucrats attempt to impose internet censorship on Americans and American companies.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee confirmed as much after subpoenaing private documents from American social media companies. Platforms “generally have one set of terms and conditions that apply worldwide,” so European mandates are forcing changes to “worldwide” content moderation policies that “apply in the United States.”
What changes does it force exactly? Whatever Brussels decides.
The Digital Services Act requires tech platforms to prevent the spread of content that could pose “systemic risks,” such as “misinformation” and “hate speech,” but it leaves the terms undefined. It also requires platforms to account for the speech laws of all 27 EU........