The Trump administration is attacking Europe over free speech, saying its regulation of social media and different on-line platforms quantities to “Orwellian” censorship.
In a social media put up Tuesday, the State Division, with out giving any specifics, stated 1000’s of individuals are being convicted for criticizing their very own governments, echoing remarks Vice President JD Vance made earlier this yr.
“This Orwellian message gained’t idiot the US,” it stated. “Censorship is just not freedom.”
The State Division then appeared to hyperlink the declare to the Digital Companies Act, the EU’s tech and social media rulebook, saying: “All of the DSA protects is European leaders from their very own individuals.”
The State Division didn’t instantly reply to follow-up questions.
A number of American social media giants, together with Meta and X, have confronted authorized motion beneath the DSA, which entered into power in 2022.
In the meantime, U.S. authorities have more and more scrutinized the social media posts of foreigners searching for to enter the nation, together with college students, with the State Division directing consular officers to be looking out for “any indications of hostility towards the residents, tradition, authorities, establishments or founding ideas of the US.”
The State Division put up seemed to be a continuation of earlier Trump administration criticism of EU content material moderation guidelines. In March, Brendan Carr, the chair of the U.S. Federal Communications Fee, warned in a speech to the Cell World Congress that the rules threaten free speech.
Vance launched an assault on European governments on the Munich Safety Convention in February, lambasting what he deemed “the retreat of Europe from a few of its most basic values.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced in Might a brand new visa restriction coverage concentrating on international officers complicit in censoring what Individuals put up on-line, singling out Latin America and Europe.