{"id":1667254,"date":"2026-03-03T12:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1667254"},"modified":"2026-03-03T12:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T17:20:00","slug":"european-commission-wants-your-free-speech-x-is-in-the-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/european-commission-wants-your-free-speech-x-is-in-the-way\/1667254\/","title":{"rendered":"European Commission Wants Your Free Speech. X Is In The Way"},"content":{"rendered":"

European Commission Wants Your Free Speech. X Is In The Way<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Adina Portau via RealClearPolitics.ocm,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Last week,<\/a>\u00a0Elon Musk\u2019s X launched a landmark\u00a0legal challenge<\/a>\u00a0against a $140 million fine issued by the European Commission last December under the Digital Services Act,<\/strong> an EU censorship law. The case was filed at the General Court of the EU, which hears high-stakes challenges to EU regulatory and enforcement actions.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The commission\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0the fine, the first to be issued under the DSA, was for alleged transparency and procedural breaches, all of which X denies. But the real reason the company was targeted is clear: X is a free speech platform, and Elon Musk refuses to implement online censorship in the EU and around the world.<\/p>\n

This case, which ADF International is proud to support, concretizes the severe threat to free speech posed by the DSA. The EU law, which came into force in 2024, requires \u201cvery large online platforms,\u201d\u00a0like X, Meta, and Google (platforms with more than\u00a045 million users\u00a0per month), which\u00a0operate\u00a0or are accessible in the EU, to remove so-called\u00a0\u201cillegal content.\u201d<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIllegal content\u201d is defined in line with a plethora of anti-free speech legislation across EU countries, such as in Germany, where it is illegal to insult a politician (Section 188 German Criminal Code<\/a>). The legislation additionally\u00a0requires<\/a>\u00a0platforms to \u201cmitigate\u201d so-called \u201csystemic risks,\u201d such as \u201cnegative effects\u201d on \u201ccivic discourse,\u201d \u201celectoral processes,\u201d and \u201cgender-based violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Codes of conduct<\/a>\u00a0have also been added to the legislation regarding \u201cdisinformation,\u201d \u201chate speech,\u201d and\u00a0guidelines<\/a>\u00a0on electoral processes and the protection of minors, resulting in 153 pages of additional regulations that were never voted on. Platforms face massive fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover for non-compliance with the DSA and can even be suspended in the EU.<\/p>\n

The vague terms used in the legislation and codes of conduct are extremely broad and lack precise legal definitions, meaning they are ideal tools for the commission to censor\u00a0disfavored views<\/a>. And the commission\u2019s reach extends far beyond Europe through the DSA.<\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from the House Judiciary Committee showed big tech platforms face immense pressure from the commission to set their global content moderation rules to censorial DSA standards.<\/strong> This means the EU law is censoring speech not just in Europe, but also in the United States and around the whole world.<\/p>\n

The case of Finnish parliamentarian\u00a0P\u00e4ivi R\u00e4s\u00e4nen<\/a>\u00a0demonstrates what DSA censorship will look like in practice. After six years of criminal prosecution, P\u00e4ivi is awaiting a verdict from the Supreme Court of Finland for tweeting a Bible verse. She was prosecuted under the \u201cWar Crimes and Crimes against Humanity\u201d section of Finland\u2019s criminal code. Under the DSA, censorial laws like this will become the global baseline.<\/p>\n

Since Elon Musk bought X and turned it into a free speech platform, Brussels has been clear about its hostility toward the platform. Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton issued a stark warning in 2023\u00a0stating<\/a>: \u201cYou can run but you can\u2019t hide \u2026 fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA. \u2026 Our teams will be ready for enforcement.\u201d Former commission Vice President for Values and Transparency V\u011bra Jourov\u00e1\u00a0added<\/a>: \u201cTwitter has attracted a lot of attention, and its actions and compliance with EU law will be scrutinized vigorously and urgently.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this context, it\u2019s clear why the commission gave X the first-ever DSA fine last December. They were sending a message to all big tech platforms about what will happen to platforms that refuse to accept censorship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That is what makes X\u2019s legal challenge so important \u2013 they are fighting for the right of citizens around the world to freely express their views online. In this case, X is challenging the\u00a0centralized powers<\/a>\u00a0given to the commission by the DSA, which it argues violate its right to due process and are contrary to the rule of law.<\/p>\n

The commission is able to set the rules for content moderation, set up the infrastructure, launch investigations, and issue penalties under the DSA, all with no meaningful oversight. <\/strong>If this is allowed to stand, the EU will have the unchallenged ability to police the global public square, with dire consequences for online free speech.<\/p>\n

Now the court has an opportunity to hold the commission to account. An oral hearing is expected in the case, potentially by the end of 2026, and the subsequent ruling will affect how all big tech platforms are moderated by the DSA. X is arguing for the fine to be withdrawn, and if the basis for the fine is found\u00a0not to\u00a0be compliant with other EU\u00a0laws,\u00a0specific provisions in the legislation could be annulled.<\/p>\n

This case is the first ever challenge of the commission\u2019s bid to become a global censor. <\/strong>The outcome matters deeply for the free speech rights of billions of people around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 03\/03\/2026 – 07:20<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/european-commission-wants-your-free-speech-x-way<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

European Commission Wants Your Free Speech. X Is In The Way Authored by Adina Portau via RealClearPolitics.ocm, Last week,\u00a0Elon Musk\u2019s X launched a landmark\u00a0legal challenge\u00a0against…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1667255,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1667254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1667254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1667282,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667254\/revisions\/1667282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1667255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1667254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1667254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1667254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}