In my new book on free speech and various columns, I write about the European Digital Services Act (DSA) as one of the greatest assaults on free speech in history. One of the most notorious anti-free speech figures in the world is European Commissioner for Internal Markets and Services Thierry Breton. Where some censors express reluctance in their work, Breton is chillingly enthusiastic in threatening those with opposing views with charges and financial ruin. The latest is Elon Musk for his decision to interview former President Donald Trump.
After Musk bought Twitter and pledged to dismantle much of the company’s massive censorship system, Breton went after the company at the urging of Hillary Clinton.
For those who criticized the European Union as a dangerous step toward a transnational governance system, Breton is the personification of their worst fears. He has wielded the sweeping powers and vague standards of the DSA to force companies to engage in comprehensive censorship regardless of national laws or their own values.
As I wrote in the book:
“Under the DSA, users are ’empowered to report illegal content online and online platforms will have to act quickly.’ This includes speech that is viewed not only as ‘disinformation’ but also ‘incitement.’ European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager has been one of the most prominent voices seeking international censorship. At the passage of the DSA, Vestager was ecstatic in declaring that it is ‘not a slogan anymore, that what is illegal offline should also be seen and dealt with as illegal online. Now it is a real thing. Democracy’s back.’”
This week, Breton was irate that Musk was giving Trump a forum on X, formerly Twitter. He was not the only one. The interview was interrupted by what Musk said was a distributed denial-of-service (DDS) attack by people trying to prevent the interview.
Notably, a DDS attack interrupted a prior interview with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Like Breton, many were working tirelessly to prevent others from hearing opposing views.
Breton threatened Musk that the EU was watching and that the Trump interview could bring crippling sanctions under the DSA: “As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in [the EU] in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk.”
As in the past, Breton refused to recognize that he was interfering with elections in another country. Sitting in his EU office, he demanded that whatever is discussed in the interiew should satisfy his own content standards: “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU.”
Breton expressly warned that the censors were watching. Breton wrote of the Musk-Trump interview: “Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
“This notably means, on one hand, that freedom of expression and of information, including media freedom and pluralism, are effectively protected and, on the other hand, that all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if unaddressed, might increase the risk profile of X and generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security.
He then threatened to impose ruinous financial penalties until Musk censored others, including potentially one of two leading presidential candidates in the United States.
Musk responded with a defiant message that began with “Bonjour!” He added a vulgar Tropic Thunder reference.
Breton is one of the key figures in an anti-free speech movement that has swept over Europe. It is now using the DSA, as many of us predicted, to force other countries to censor their citizens and even their leaders. It is free speech regulated to the lowest common denominator, the level set by the EU and Breton.
There is a crushing irony. The left has made “foreign interference” with elections a mantra of claiming to be defending democracy. Yet, it applauds EU censors threatening companies that carry an interview with a targeted American politician. It also supports importing such censorship and blacklisting systems to the United States. When you agree with the censorship, it is not viewed as interference, but an intervention.
If citizens want to see where the anti-free speech movement will take us in the United States, they need only to look at Europe where free speech is in a virtual free fall. As I wrote in “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage”:
“The impact of these laws was evident in a poll of German citizens. Only 18 percent of Germans feel free to express their opinions in public. Fifty-nine percent of Germans did not even feel free expressing themselves in private among friends. And just 17 percent felt free to express themselves on the internet. The only true success of censorship has been the forced or compelled silence of those with opposing views. That pretense of social harmony is treated as success even though few minds are changed as fewer voices are heard in society.”
Musk may be the only individual with sufficient money and commitment to stand up to the EU and the global censors. That is precisely why Musk is being targeted by so many in the media, academia, and government. It is also why many of us support X and its struggle against the EU and Breton.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. He is the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage” (Simon and Schuster).
Oh, my! Europe is in need of liberation again.
“. . . Elon Musk for his decision to interview former President Donald Trump.” (JT)
In the name of election fairness, I look forward to KH’s interview on X.
Oh, wait. She doesn’t do interviews. She doesn’t articulate or explain her positions on important policies. As with everything else in her life, she doesn’t believe that she has to *earn* your vote.
She demands the unearned. In an election, the unearned is called a coronation.
Oh did Elon and spanky finally get off the ground last night? Elon should probably be less concerned with censoring his site from Harris supporters and more concerned with the tech on his end. Elon shows as little concern for free speech as the Turley trolls/stooge has in Turleyville.
All in all, I’m glad the two fascist wannabes got to rim each other in public last night.
Elon should triple the cost of ferrying astronauts to the International Space Station via his SpaceX vehicles and offer a substantial discount to countries with unfettered free speech laws. I would even double that charge for a return to earth.
Does that European jerk understand the concept of the United States’ Declaration of Independence? Does he think he can just invalidate it by his will?
If the United States didn’t have leadership that was so weak in this department, he would be on his way out. And that would be after his expiration date.
Are we finally getting a grasp of the “BIG PICTURE”?
Trump should be free to fabricate the story of a maintenance worker outing the Harris campaign for creating AI photos of crowd size; morons should be free to believe him; and employers should be free to not hire those idiots. Free speech.
To clear up a few things about the riots in the UK. The killer of the 3 little girls was not an immigrant but was from the immigrant community. You might say he was a son of the immigrant community. And he was. A lot of study in various journals and political discussions mentions that the 1st generation born in a new country are likely to be the most lost in their new world. The parents have a clear idea of the reason for leaving their old country such as oppression, lousy economy or both.
The 1st generation is not tied to the problems of the old country but as yet has not assimilated into the new. They are awash in a world they did not creat and at loose ends from the old heritage and yet to grasp the new. They are prime candidates for anger, lashing out and being radicalized. That is why most reasonable states allow slow immigration so people can be assimilated into their new world. It’s called sanity which has been lost on the EU, UK and USA. You can have a melting pot if you slowly add the ingredients into the mixture but dump a full load of all the ingredients in and you risk an explosion. ie:the UK.
As far as the EU and their Ministry of Truth is concerned, they are right out of 1984 and Big Brother and the Thought Police. Written by George Orwell (a Brit).
Having lived in Europe and traveled there, you can say they look like us but they have never thought like us. Our Ancestors are the ones who said “enough of this s—t” and left and stayed away. Those that stayed in Europe or failed in the New World and returned to Europe are what we have to deal with now. They are wedded to the state because it gives them the rights the state thinks they need or should have. They really have no concept of what free speech really is and I doubt they ever will.
The ruling class has hated the United States for our entire existence and still do. We don’t talk in riddles and we’re blunt. And we hurt their pride and usually when they achieve something they find Americans already there and ready to sell tickets. Of course they also hate each other and starting European wars and then calling them a World War and sucking everyone else in.
But they really hate the ruffian lower classes who should not get upset because a few little girls got stabbed to death for simply being little girls at a Taylor Swift dance. The new Prime Minister seems to be unable to grasp that even poor people and ruffians love their children, especially when murdered by someone from a protected class. And this is the Labor Party, you know the protector of poor and the working man. What a crock of s—t.
Apologies to all today. Bad mood and really not up for listening to self righteous Europeans. I’ll leave it at that.
GEB, good reply. One thing Americans did (and in many cases still do) is assimilate themselves into our nation. One Nation. My dad’s first language was German. My grandparents made a conscious choice to switch to English. All of their six children were successful and three served honorably in combat zones in World War II (including my aunt who was a surgical nurse in field hospitals in the Pacific).
I love the immigrant success stories! When you see parents who sacrificed everything and themselves to make sure their children do better and you get to meet the successful, well educated adult children who can speak perfect English and equally communicate in their native tongue. It is a beautiful thing to experience.
I fear that we are regressing into tribal factions “communities” and if such behavior continues, we will lose strength. This, in my view is what is happening in Europe. What does it mean to be European? I know some small countries such as Luxembourg (where some of my family are from) is making efforts to retain their identity as a (small) nation. There is a national pride in its citizens.
Yes, keep a close touch with ethnic origins but make every effort to be a citizen of a nation.
E.M.-Thats the way to do it. Mine is Scottish, Irish, Brit and French mostly came in 1700’s and 1800’s. Wife is Irish and German (3rd generation-my mother in law still spoke some significant German). Son in law from Taiwan and grand daughter is an amalgamation of us all.
It was a British citizen. Immigrants were attacked and assaulted because of the false rumors being spread on social media, disinformation. Racists and anti-immigrant citizens deliberately stoked the violence to inflict harm on those they don’t want there. It’s as simple as that. Ironically it’s what led to the disastrous Brexit that is plaguing the British economy.
George – As noted above by GEB, the killer’s parents were immigrants. Why were they allowed into the country? The supposedly crazed demonstrators would like an answer to that question. Unlike out-of-touch elites, they empathize with the parents of the slain girls.
Why does it matter if the parents were immigrants? The murderer was born and raised as a British citizen from Wales. How does that excuse the violence and assaults on immigrants who had nothing to do with the incident?
Racists and bigots calling for violence against immigrants on social media and Elon enabling it is not free speech.
This has nothing to do with elites. It’s about racists and bigots taking advantage of the incident to incite violence against immigrants by spreading false rumors on social media. They even spread a false name and accused immigrants of committing crimes like these and blaming them for their self inflicted Brexit problems. They are looking for scapegoats to explain the failure of Brexit and this was an opportunity to do that. Disinformation was used to stir anti-immigrant sentiment and riots ensued. The DSA is justified in keeping an eye on Elon because these rumors and incitement were being spread through X formerly twitter. Speech inciting violence is NOT protected speech.
“From the river to the sea” incites violence. You condoned it as free speech.
No, peoples were mixed against their wishes and this is the result. Well, you are seeing the results, just as we have been seeing the results all over the world and in our backyards for generations (millennia, actually). The people that tell you what to think understand this is a phase in their scheme and do not care, so you don’t care (you simply do not know why).
When you create an artificial diverse community, one based solely on displacing people and injecting them into new places, instead of say areas where trade evolves, this is what you get. This is the diversity benefit lie you have been told to believe. It doesn’t work, but from where you sit, how would you know?
One world, one people BS is a terrible idea, but not nearly as terrible as forcing it on people against their will. Aholes.
Other counties take different views of the balance between rights and public good. That is ok. We live the US, not the EU, so the EU can do what they want.
Also the Musk-Trump interview is like two dogs trying to hump each other.
Would Harris do a interview with Musk?
Where is she? Seems to be hiding.
Why would anyone be interviewed by Musk. He’s spectacularly inarticulate in conversation.
Very articulate
One must applaud the party’s successes suppressing thoughtcrime and advancing INGSOC.
WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH (but what is a woman?)
The Trumptards elevate the transgender issue as the most important of our lives. The facts: 1.7% of all babies are born with intersex traits in which doctors don’t know exactly what sex the baby is. And during maturation less than half of those people get sex changes.
And this is your major concern? The sooner we shitcan hillybilly conspiracy BS the better.
“transgender issue as the most important of our lives. The facts: 1.7% of all babies are born with intersex traits”
LOL This person wants to be a modern marxist but doesn’t even know the difference between sex and gender.
This is what happens when someone tries to argue crap they don’t even believe themselves.
Bwahahahaha
When you are dead, you don’t even know you’re dead. It is only painful and difficult for others. The same applies when you are stupid. (R Gervais)
Stop inflicting so much pain.
Remember that the only reason censorship exists is because the regime is dying. A government with a healthy relationship with its citizens never needs to restrict what they say. Censorship is an admission of failure.
So by speaking out even when they try to censor you, you not only get to express your opinion, but you are also literally helping to topple an illegitimate government. Win-win, I’d say!
@Anonymous
Very much agreed, and I’d add that only a failing regime would resort to such madness and hysteria to hold onto power. Progressives are the ones that are actually grasping a status quo in an iron fist and are terrified of meaningful, positive change. The thought of not being in control is and having to participate equally like everyone else is literally anathema to them (sounds an awful lot like royalty, eh?).
And hear, hear! Very much agreed again! We’ve toppled ‘royals’ before, we can do it again. Europe never truly abandoned those ideas, not really. This is most definitely a regression on all of their parts, and we needn’t stand for it.
You’re a traitor.
It appears the X interview was a roaring success given the number of ~ 1 Billion views. No wonder the Left seeks to cancel Elon. They can not tolerate different points of view. Had Americans known the true neurocognitive status of Joseph Biden, that Kamala Harris concealed, he would have never “won” the election. He would have never left his basement and Democrats would have likely burned down the United States just like they did to Richmond when they lost the Civil War.
X
@X
Between 7:47 PM and 10:47 PM ET, President Donald Trump’s Space post received 73 million views. During the same period, there were 4 million posts about Elon Musk and President Trump’s conversation on 𝕏, generating a total of 998 million views.
2:35 AM · Aug 13, 2024
12.1M Views
https://x.com/X/status/1823246862264242557
Estovir,
By their words and actions, the leftists put on full display for all to see how intolerant they are to any point of view other than their own.
Funny how that sounds like your general tone, as well.
I love how tolerant Trump is of people who have different opinions to his.
It was boring.
Watching the MSM meltdown is hysterical!
Musk and Trump had a two hour conversation. Harris cannot manage two minutes without beclowning herself.
Trump only fabricated about 8 stories and told about 30 lies. You must have been orgasming over and over for 2 hours.
Upstate gets giddy over things like Big Lies.
Yet they never tell us what the false stories and lies are.
@Anonimi
Again, that just doesn’t work anymore. Your employer should ask for a refund. We had four years under Trump and nearly four years under the dem regime. You aren’t convincing anyone of anything, Pbbblt. 😝
James,
And for the first three years of Trump admin, were really good for America and Americans.
Then COVID happened which was China’s fault. The lockdowns were dumb and did nothing but harm us.
Then Biden got elected and everything went to crap. We are still feeling the impacts of Bidenomics and Bidenflation. The damage was so great, I dont think Trump or anyone can fix it. Might take years or even a decade before we can recover from Bidenomics and Bidenflation.
I’m so glad the south lost the Civil War. Waving a Confederate flag is tantamount to waving a Nazi flag.
And abortion is tantamount to gassing the jews
“Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political – or societal – events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”
I listened, and there was quite literally nothing that could fall under any of those headings, it was a great conversation – the modern left is insane, they are anti-freedom fascists, straight up at this point. It’s wild to watch their escalating hysteria and subsequent attempts at absolute control in real time.
We need to elect those who will eject the unelected aristocracy in November or it’ll never happen. I fear it might already be too late for Western Europe, people are rapidly becoming virtual prisoners of ideology there.
Really: we have to vote in numbers so overwhelming it can’t be disputed. This really is the defining election in our history, and it’s not going to be pretty, but we can’t allow ourselves to be cowed. The doublespeak and madness of the likes of the EU will destroy us, we can’t take another four years of any of this.
Thank goodness the interview is being posted and any falsehood surrounding the conversation can be quickly and easily debunked. The modern left very quickly went from running on arrogance and entitlement to unbridled vitriol and hatred. It’s crazy.
The Eu should ban the Biden administration for all the disinformation about his cognitive abilities, don’t you think?
In my mind the EU is irrelevant.
Brenton/EU simply helping out, the Globalist/Deep State/Democrats etc, to censor limit what Elon and Trump have to say. Election interference and siding with Harris/Dem’s. I am sure their were both foreign gov’ts/US Deep State involved in trying to deny and interfere with the interview but as usual Musk/Trump managed to overcome the interference and had a great discussion, covering a wide range of topics. I agree with Jonthan Elon may be the only person to challenge and beat the EU and others. Elon is not afraid and he is a winner.
The DSA and Breton put Big Brother to shame: Nineteen Eighty-four was fiction.
As many other have said already, they view Orwell’s opus as a do it yourself manual of government operations, a goal they seek to achieve.
“Breton is chillingly enthusiastic in threatening those with opposing views with charges and financial ruin.”
Sounds like maybe, a king? According to the net In 2023, Breton purchased Gargilesse Castle in Gargilesse-Dampierre. When will mankind reject these elite from governing their lives? Where’s Robin Hood or William Wallace?
He added a vulgar Tropic Thunder reference.
Having never seen Tropic Thunder, nor heard of it, I think a better comparison would be to the scene where James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Casino Royale is threatened by Le Chiffre. I can see Elon Musk retorting to Thierry Breton in likewise fashion. Perhaps when Trump becomes President, he can cut off all aid to EU for their interfering with US elections.
Estovir-I understand you but you really should see Tropic Thunder. It’s hysterical. Really great cast and some real irreverence. I loved it and still do.
The E.U. has, in a large manner, descended back to its pagan roots. Therefore its representatives, knowingly or unknowingly, are in a war against individual humanity, the sanctity of life, the sovereignty of the family unit, truth, freedom of mind, freedom of speech. If they stood on truth and a truthful foundation, then there is nothing to hide from the truth. Alas! This is not the case and thus they must turn to suppression.
The fact that they a presently unable to control X is apparently driving them nuts and Elon’s responses has been satisfying to watch.
Have (not has)
“. . . pagan roots.”
When was that? And what do you mean by “pagan?”
The E.U. has, in a large manner, descended back to its pagan roots.
Saint Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, both PhD published academic philosophers, warned Europe repeatedly as such during their lifetime. Pope Francis continued the same argument when he was invited to address the EU Parliament. It did not go well!
The New Pagans and the Church
A 1958 Lecture by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
https://www.hprweb.com/2017/01/the-new-pagans-and-the-church/
HPR is an excellent academic source of philosophical and theological scholasticism. I used to subscribe to it back in the 1990s
Using Germans as an example is a bad example. Germans tend to keep to themselves and don’t discuss politics openly. That’s not a sign that Germans are being “silenced” because of censorship.
Misinformation or disinformation can and does produce harm. Recently there were riots and violence against immigrants in England because of misinformation spread online. Social media played a large part. Claims that a Muslim immigrant stabbed three girls in England led to violence against immigrants and the worst riots in years. The inclusion of a fake name and its spread on Elon Musk’s platform added to the problem.
Elon Musk even joined in, stoking the rumors further by irresponsibly claiming “civil war is inevitable”. This is why the DSA has reason to be concerned. They are Justified because of what happened in England and the real effects disinformation does produce. The DSA warning Elon “they are watching” comes in the heels of the worst riots in England incited by social media rumors left unchecked.
Elon kept fanning the flames of that riot by blaming the prime minister for the problem. This is exactly why government is monitoring social media more. Government scrutiny does not mean censorship. Inciting violence and encouraging it is NOT considered protected speech here or in Europe. I think I the professor is being less than honest with the issue and he seems to use it only to promote his book.
I completely agree, there’s a disconnect in the idea of free speech and the lack or responsibility in exercising it. Elon Musk’s claiming to be a free-speech absolutist is not about engaging in free speech that existed before social media and the internet existed. Free speech existed before social media. And these are private companies that are profiting off engagement and our data. If they start to profit off the fact that hateful speech and propaganda and disinformation gets more engagement, then I think we’ve got a problem, because this is no longer about free speech; this is about the free market of speech. And that’s a different thing entirely.
Think about it. Elon has a revenue problem in X. He’s currently suing advertisers because they are not advertising on his platform. That is after he told them off with a very public and vulgar message. He’s using hate speech and propaganda to increase traffic and prominence. It’s already responsible for fomenting violence in England because of disinformation. Speech can indeed lead to someone else’s harm.
“Harmful” and “hate speech” quickly descend into meaning “speech that I do not like.” The European censors imitate the censors who are active on American college campuses, finding “harmful” and “violent” any speech that they disagree with. This is a short road to totalitarian control of all speech. Free speech absolutism assumes that good speech cancels out bad speech. The censors are unwilling to trust the public in this, or in anything else of importance. Democracy, by contrast, assumes that, eventually, the people will get it right.
“Government scrutiny does not mean censorship.”
You conveniently ignored a crucial fact: scrutiny and the *threat of punishment* — for speech it doesn’t approve of.
That is the very definition of “censorship.”
I disagree. Scrutiny and the threat of accountability, not punishment, is not censorship. Holding a company accountable is holding them responsible. If they wanted to punish a company they would have sought charges. Clearly that’s not what they are saying.
Elon added to the inflammatory rhetoric that was already causing violence in England because if disinformation spread on his platform. Speech inciting violence is not protected speech. People were hurt and others were wrongly targeted because of false and deliberate claims a Muslim immigrant was behind the stabbings. Even the name used to identify the perpetrator was fake, but that did not stop others from attacking immigrants for a crime committed by a British citizen. That’s the danger with disinformation and inciting violence online. That’s why the DSA was warning Elon that they were watching him. His platform is already responsible for spreading the rhetoric fueling the riots and violence against immigrants in England.
The violence was against immigrants. The rumors being spread were accusing a Muslim immigrant for the stabbing using a fake name.
That’s not the point. People were easily duped by deliberate disinformation leading to violence against others who had nothing to do with the incident. Speech that incites violence is not protected speech here or in Europe. Last weeks riots in England were the result of disinformation spread on Elon’s platform and he fanned the flames by responding to those posting disinformation and lending them credibility. This is why the DSA is being mindful of Elon’s platform. They are justified in their concern because of the violence against immigrants that came about because of disinformation and hate speech on “X”.
” comes in the heels of the worst riots in England incited by social media rumors left unchecked….”
The gaslightling klaxon goes off…
The middle and lower classes in Europe and England are sick to death of unsustainable immigration and its attendant social disruption, crime and costs. Officials in Sweden have now admitted that Sweden is safer in the summer — left unsaid was that this happens to coincide with the time when “asylum seekers” head back to home countries for a vacation.
“European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager has been one of the most prominent voices seeking international censorship.”
When you fight a war against fascists in Italy and Germany, you are not supposed to then use their totalitarian governments as a blueprint.