The European Union continues to double down on crushing free speech, and the U.S. State Department is having none of it.
The State Department, which has made free speech a priority since Donald Trump took office, came to Ireland’s defense over the EU member’s decision to pull back on censorship of free speech. The EU is pressuring Ireland to implement harsh rules expanding the definition of “hate speech,” but the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) staunchly backed Ireland.
The DRL posted on X on June 14, “The European Union is threatening legal action against Ireland if it does not adopt the speech rules designed by bureaucrats in Brussels, even after the Irish government dropped such legislation last year due to lack of democratic consensus.” DRL affirmed the Irish government’s decision to prioritize the people’s opinion: “The United States is deeply committed to supporting freedom of expression and national sovereignty. We support the Irish people and our shared commitment to fundamental freedoms.”
It is important to note that Ireland already has a law criminalizing certain types of speech, and similar legislation has been proposed. For example, the 1989 Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act, which prohibits discrimination, has been weaponized before. Christian teacher Enoch Burke was arrested for refusing to use transgender pronouns.
Last year, the Irish government proposed a more extreme bill, the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill. The legislation received much criticism, including from X owner Elon Musk, who labeled it a “massive attack against freedom of speech.” In late 2024, the Irish government acknowledged that there was not enough support to pass the legislation with the unaltered hate speech provisions. The bill ultimately passed, but only after the parts severely curtailing certain types of speech were removed, The Irish Times reported.
According to Reclaim the Net, the original version of the bill aligned more with similar EU directives, which force Big Tech platforms to silence speech leftists disagree with on mass immigration and other topics.
Now, the EU is reportedly threatening Ireland in an apparent attempt to override the legislative process and force compliance with EU rules like the Digital Services Act. Independent Irish Member of the European Parliament Michael McNamara slammed the effort on May 22. “Hate speech laws are counter-productive. They are also profoundly illiberal. They've damaged the UK and we don't want the same. I asked the European Commission to drop threatened proceedings against Ireland and hate speech laws,” McNamara posted on X.
Free Speech is 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.
