MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider and other free speech advocates exposed the insidious impact of a vague European censorship law from the capital of the European Union.
Schneider and his fellow panelists went after the pro-censorship European Union for cheering on Big Tech censorship at a May 21 panel in Brussels. Schneider specifically lambasted the EU’s draconian Digital Services Act (DSA) which has utilized vague language to encourage Big Tech companies to censor content in order to avoid crippling fines. He went so far as to characterize the law as “the greatest weapon that the left has ever invented to attack anybody who opposes its progressive, radical, agenda.”
He also criticized University of Amsterdam Associate Professor Joris van Hoboken, the researcher the European Commission depends on to decide “when a platform violates the hate speech and code of conduct.” Hoboken has also done research for Soros's Open Society Foundations. Schneider and others even noted that the DSA has pushed social media companies to censor political opponents of the EU establishment.
He added, “Why does it matter what [Prof. Hoboken] thinks? Well, because the question really isn't censorship, it's the standard to which the European Commission will apply its rules. And basically, there is no standard. It's just whoever they don't like,” Schneider said.
Other panelists also bashed the DSA for its vagueness, noting that platforms will preemptively censor content to avoid potential fines. One panelist pointed this out by saying that the DSA defines illegal content slated for removal, “as anything that violates EU or member states legislation today — or in future legislation.” The panelist called this a “blank check given to [The European Commission and Big Tech platforms] in order to censor anything they want,” before going on to warn that this would lead to global censorship.
Notably, another panelist revealed that former EU commissioner Thierry Breton was made aware of how the DSA’s failure to define key terms like hate speech and disinformation would threaten free speech. Breton reportedly dismissed this warning.
While the speakers primarily blamed the EU, Schneider also highlighted the complicity of Big Tech. “Google is the font of all evil, and every one of the large social media platforms and search engines, are heavily biased against–conservatives, including Twitter,” Schneider said.
The MRC Free Speech America VP pointed out that large social media companies were already censoring conservatives before the Biden administration, the EU or the German government told them to. “Google, in their office wide meeting, the general counsel promised all of the employees at Google that Google would use all its resources from preventing Donald Trump from getting reelected,” Schneider said.
Schneider also pointed to an MRC Free Speech America study showing that even Elon Musk’s X had participated in censorship that impacted Republican members of Congress.
MRC researchers found that X assigned visibility scores to members of Congress with higher visibility scores granting y the member better engagement on the site. Outrageously, the researchers found that the average House and Senate democrat had a significantly higher score than their Republican counterparts. Radicals such as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), both received higher visibility scores than House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
[This discussion was held under Chatham House Rules, which means that quotes may not be attributed to individuals. Schneider waived this in his own case.]
Conservatives are under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
