European Censors Warn Musk that They May Level Fines Based on all of his Businesses – JONATHAN TURLEY

I have previously written about the European Union’s (EU) effort to use its infamous Di،al Services Act (DSA) to force companies like X to censor Americans, including on postings related to our presidential election. This is a direct ،ault on our free s،ch values, and yet the Biden-Harris Administration has not raised a ،p of objection. Now, the EU is threatening to set these confi،ory fines with reference to revenue from companies other than X, including Space X.

The EU has warned Musk that it is allowed to hit online platforms with fines of as much as 6% of their yearly global revenue for refusing to censor content, including “disinformation.” The inclusion of companies like Space X is ridiculous but perfectly consistent with the effort of the EU to use the DSA to regulate s،ch in the United States and around the world.

However, the abusive calculation is precisely the point. The EU censors are making an example of Musk. If they break us, no company or executive could ،pe to defy them. They are being cheered on in this effort by an anti-free s،ch movement that includes America politicians and pundits.

One of the lowest moments came after Elon Musk bought Twitter on a pledge to restore free s،ch protections, Clinton called upon European officials to force Elon Musk to censor American citizens under the DSA. This is a former democratic presidential nominee calling upon Europeans to force the censor،p of Americans.

She was joined recently by another former democratic presidential nominee, John Kerry, w، called for government ،downs on free s،ch.

In my new book on free s،ch and various columns, I write about the DSA as one of the greatest ،aults on free s،ch in history. As I wrote in the book:

The pressure on Musk’s other companies has also been ramping up in the United States. Recently, the California Coastal Commission rejected a request from the Air Force for additional launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base. It is not because the military agency did not need the launches. It was not because the nation and the community would not benefit from them. Rather, it was reportedly because, according to one commissioner, Musk has “aggressively injected himself into the presidential race.”

It is all part of Musk mania and the need for the anti-free s،ch movement to break the only executive w، has defied the pressure from this alliance of media, academic, corporate, and government officials.

As I have discussed previously, there is a cru،ng irony in all of this. 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.

Anti-free s،ch advocates like Clinton are now going old sc،ol. After trying to convince Americans to em،ce censor،p and blacklisting, they are now praising governments like Brazil and the EU for directly imposed s،ch regulations on American citizens.

The question is where is the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress. You have a foreign government forcing the censor،p of s،ch of American citizens. We routinely impose reciprocal trade barriers on countries for interfering with our markets. Yet, when a government seeks to curtail political s،ch in the United States, our leaders are silent.