EU online regulation: Broad criticism of US sanctions

The German organization is affected HateAid which campaigns against hate online, and the former French EU commissioner Thierry Breton.

The US State Department did not immediately release the names of those affected. Initially, there was only talk of “radical activists” and “instrumentalized” non-governmental organizations that had pushed for censorship measures by foreign states. They are said to have tried to force US platforms to suppress “American viewpoints” that they rejected.

However, it is now clear that Imran Ahmed, the British head of the US-based Center for Countering Digital Hate, and Clare Melford, co-founder of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), have also been banned from entering the country. A GDI spokesman criticized the US actions as immoral, illegal and un-American.

Breton is considered the architect of the EU digital services law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). The law requires all platforms to delete “illegal content” “immediately.” In the event of violations, companies face fines amounting to billions of euros. “Our digital rules ensure safe and fair competition for all companies and are applied without discrimination,” said the EU Commission. Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental rights in Europe and is a value that is shared with the USA and other democracies.

The EU Commission did not initially explain how exactly it could react to the entry bans. It would be conceivable, for example, that she would propose restricting cooperation with the USA in certain areas. If the dispute escalates further, economic countermeasures cannot be ruled out.

German Justice Minister: US allegations “unacceptable”

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig on Wednesday rejected the US government’s allegations as unacceptable. “HateAid supports those affected by illegal digital hate speech,” said the SPD politician in Berlin. The organization makes an important contribution to ensuring that personal rights are also protected in the digital space.

In October, co-founder Anna-Lena Hodenberg was awarded the Federal Order of Merit for her work. At the time, it was said that she had done pioneering work in 2018 and created the first nationwide advice center that people could turn to in cases of online violence. Anyone who calls her and Josephine Ballon’s work censorship is “misrepresenting our constitutional system,” Hubig explained. She explained that HateAid supports those affected but does not prohibit expression of opinion.

From the EU for the EU

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also called the entry bans unacceptable. On Platform X he wrote that the DSA ensures “that everything that is illegal offline is also illegal online.” The law was passed democratically by the EU for the EU and does not have an extraterritorial effect, said the CDU politician. “We generally want to clarify other views with the USA in the transatlantic dialogue in order to strengthen our partnership,” he added.

The US government has long been calling for changes to the strict EU digital laws, which are intended, for example, to prevent the spread of misinformation via platforms such as X and also affect companies such as Amazon, Apple and Meta (Facebook), Alphabet (Google) and Microsoft.

The EU Commission repeatedly emphasizes that these are only intended to guarantee fair competition and the protection of children and democratic elections. Allegations that the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is a censorship instrument have no basis. Specifically, it obliges platforms, for example, to offer simple procedures for reporting illegal content, goods or services. They must also take measures to protect minors from gambling or pornography.

US Secretary of State criticizes “ideologues in Europe”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously wrote on Under President Donald Trump, the US government will no longer tolerate “extraterritorial censorship” and will introduce entry bans against “leading figures in the global censorship-industrial complex.” They are prepared to expand the list if there is no course correction.

Rubio and other US government officials have criticized alleged Internet censorship in Europe several times in the past. The background was a decision by the EU Commission according to which billionaire Elon Musk’s Platform X had to pay a fine of 120 million euros due to lack of transparency. The decision sparked strong reactions in the United States. Rubio spoke on X of an “attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.” The days of online censorship for Americans are over.

Breton speaks of “witch hunt”

Breton compared the sanctions announced by the US State Department against him and four other people to the “witch hunt” against alleged communists during the McCarthy era in the USA. On Platform X he wrote: “To our American friends: Censorship is not happening where you think it is.” Breton and the French government recalled that the European Union’s Digital Services Act had been passed by the EU Parliament and all member states with a large democratic majority so that no legal vacuum would arise on the Internet.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the US measures were aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty. We will continue to defend digital sovereignty and regulatory autonomy together with the EU Commission and European partners, he added. A spokesman for the EU Commission explained that the EU had asked the USA to give reasons for the entry bans. “If necessary, we will respond quickly and decisively to defend our regulations against unwarranted actions.” The EU Internal Market Commissioner, Stéphane Séjourné, announced: “No sanction will silence the sovereignty of the European peoples.”