Less than three weeks ago, a fine of 120 million euros from the European Commission against X (formerly Twitter), owned by Musk, had already led Marco Rubio to use undiplomatic words, saying that he was fighting against “an attack on all Americans.” Vice President JD Vance also railed against Brussels, saying that “the EU should support freedom of expression and not attack US companies for petty reasons.” Network X was fined for deceptively authenticating user accounts, withholding data from researchers, and failing to transparently document ads.
Thierry Breton used Musk’s platform to respond to the “winds of McCarthyism”, a reference to Senator Joseph MacCarthy and the persecution he carried out in the 1950s against anyone suspected of communism. “To remember: 90% of the European Parliament — democratically elected — and the 27 member states unanimously approved the DSA”that is, European legislation on digital. Breton, former Minister of Economy and Finance during Jacques Chirac’s presidency, concluded: “To our North American friends: censorship is not where you think it is.”
Also at X, President Emmanuel Macron came out in defense of European legislation relating to digital, saying that it applies to “to ensure fair competition between platforms, without targeting any third country, and to enforce online compliance with the standards that are already applied offline“. The head of state recalled that the rules of the EU’s digital space “are not intended to be defined outside of Europe” and considered that these were measures designed to “intimidate and coerce against European digital sovereignty”.
In the same vein, Jean-Noël Barrot, Minister of Foreign Affairs, also wrote in X: “The people of Europe are free and sovereign and cannot see the rules that apply to their digital space being imposed by others.” France has long been politically polarized, but the sanctions were unanimously condemned from the left to the far right. “The Trump administration is not only wrong in terms of content, it is also wrong in the image it conveys of the United States to the world,” commented vice-president of the National Regroupment Sébastien Chenu.
European outrage
The other people sanctioned are representatives of NGOs combating disinformation and online hate in the UK and Germany: Imran Ahmed from the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Clare Melford from the Global Disinformation Index, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon from HateAid.
In a statement, the European Commission “strongly condemned” the US sanctions. “If necessary, we will respond quickly and decisively to defend our regulatory autonomy against unjustified measures”he further said.
From Spain, the Government of Pedro Sánchez also denounced “unacceptable measures between partners and allies”, and expressed its “solidarity” with the former European Commissioner, considering “fundamental for democracy in Europe” protecting a “secure digital space”.
Solidarity also came from outside the European Union, in the case of the British government of Keir Starmer. “If each country has the right to define its own rules regarding visas, we support the laws and institutions that work to protect the internet from the most harmful content”, said a spokesperson for the executive, reminding that “social networks should not be used to disseminate pedopornographic material, incite hatred and violence, or spread false information”.