CV NEWS FEED // Experts will gather at the European Parliament May 21 to discuss the dangers of a 2022 European Union online censorship law and put pressure on the European Commission to overturn it.
According to a news release from Christian legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) International, the conference will address the Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that requires online platforms to remove illegal content. According to the European Commission, the act purportedly reduces the amount of disinformation online and protects Europeans’ fundamental rights.
The release stated that experts are concerned that the act “could introduce a ‘lowest common denominator’ of censorship, as the most egregious anti-speech laws in any individual EU country could be applied across the region under the act.”
Croatian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Stephen Bartulica, ADF International Executive Director Paul Coleman, French MEP Virginie Joron, and American journalist and author Rod Dreher are among the experts who will be at the conference. In the release, Coleman called the DSA “one of the most serious threats to online free speech in the digital age.”
“The move towards censorship in Europe through this framework is deeply concerning and must be challenged,” he stated. “We cannot accept a transatlantic divide on free speech, where the US recommits to the protection of this fundamental freedom, while Europe tramples on it. Freedom of expression must be protected and upheld across the globe.”
Bartulica, who is one of the conference’s co-hosts, said that the event “will be a crucial part of continuing to build pressure on the DSA.”
“Online censorship in Europe must be rejected,” he said. “I believe in free speech, not regulated speech.
Opposition to the law is reportedly building across the EU, while the US has expressed concerns about increased censorship as well. Congressman Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, met May 16 with The European Commission’s executive vice-president for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Henna Virkkunen. In a post on X, Virkkunen said they had a “candid exchange” about freedom of speech.
Jordan also sent a letter May 13 to EU Commissioner for Justice and Rule of Law Michael McGrath, expressing concern about the DSA and calling for action, according to The European Conservative.
The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor also raised concerns about censorship as a result of the DSA in a May 1 X post.
“Examples of this conduct are troublingly numerous,” the Bureau stated. “EU Commissioner Thierry Breton threatened X for hosting political speech; Türkiye fined Meta for refusing to restrict content about protests; and Australia required X to remove a post criticizing an individual for promoting gender ideology.
“Even when content may be objectionable, censorship undermines democracy, suppresses political opponents, and degrades public safety. The United States opposes efforts to undermine freedom of expression. As @SecRubio [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] said, our diplomacy will continue to place an emphasis on promoting fundamental freedoms.”
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