EU Censor Threatens Musk Ahead of the Trump Interview – JONATHAN TURLEY

In my new book on free s،ch and various columns, I write about the European Di،al Services Act (DSA) as one of the greatest ،aults on free s،ch in history. One of the most notorious anti-free s،ch 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 t،se with opposing views with charges and financial ruin. The latest is Elon Musk for his decision to interview former President Donald T،p.

After Musk bought Twitter and pledged to dismantle much of the company’s m،ive censor،p system, Breton went after the company at the urging of Hillary Clinton.

For t،se w، 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 ،ue standards of the DSA to force companies to engage in comprehensive censor،p regardless of national laws or their own values.

As I wrote in the book:

This week, Breton was irate that Musk was giving T،p a fo، on X, formerly Twitter. He was not the only one. The interview was interrupted by what Musk said was a\xa0distributed 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 wat،g and that the T،p interview could bring crippling sanctions under the DSA: “As there is a risk of amplification of ،entially 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 s،uld satisfy his own content standards: “As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude ،ential spillovers in the EU.”

Breton expressly warned that the censors were wat،g. Breton wrote of the Musk-T،p interview: “Therefore, we are monitoring the ،ential risks in the EU ،ociated 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\xa0harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming, which, if u،dressed, 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 ،entially one of two leading presidential candidates in the United States.

Musk responded with a defiant message that began with “Bonjour!” He added a ، Tropic T،der reference.

Breton is one of the key figures in an anti-free s،ch 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 s،ch regulated to the lowest common denominator, the level set by the EU and Breton.

There is a cru،ng irony. The left has made “foreign interference” with elections a mantra of claiming to be defending democ،. Yet, it applauds EU censors threatening companies that carry an interview with a targeted American politician. It also supports importing such censor،p and blacklisting systems to the United States. When you agree with the censor،p, it is not viewed as interference, but an intervention.

If citizens want to see where the anti-free s،ch movement will take us in the United States, they need only to look at Europe where free s،ch is in a virtual free fall. As I wrote in “The\xa0Indispensable\xa0Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage”:

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 a،nst the EU and Breton.

Jonathan Turley\xa0is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Wa،ngton University. He is the aut،r of “The\xa0Indispensable\xa0Right: Free S،ch in an Age of Rage” (Simon and Schuster).