The European Union (E.U.) is imposing its will on Google with a massive fine. And the European government has some disturbing demands for Google and the rest of Big Tech.
President Donald Trump harshly condemned the E.U. government after it fined Google $3.5 billion for allegedly failing to comply with European antitrust policies. Notably, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn withdrew from the fact-checking chapter of the initially voluntary E.U. Code of Conduct on Disinformation that aimed to push Big Tech towards demonetizing disfavored speech.
The president blasted the fines as “[v]ery unfair,” adding that “the American Taxpayer will not stand for it! As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand.” Trump went on to say that Apple, which has also been fined billions, should have this money refunded by the E.U. and promised action if the E.U. did not ease up and refund American companies.
Trump’s concerns about how E.U. policies impact Americans bear out when taking a look at how U.S. tech companies have previously responded to European policies.
MRC Free Speech America Director Michael Morris explained that “Under the previous U.S. administration, anxious American tech companies cozied up to the E.U. regulators by signing on to so-called voluntary codes of practice, censorship codes really, that incentivize suppressing disfavored speech.”
Morris added, “But now there’s a new sheriff in town, President Trump, and his America first policies have meant protecting American free speech, which should embolden U.S. tech platforms to resist foreign censorship pressures. The E.U. is circling the waters of censorship, but American tech companies must not allow themselves to be bullied by anti-free speech tyrants overseas.”
During a Sept. 3 House Judiciary hearing on “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation,” ADF International legal counsel Lorcán Price noted that an E.U. Commissioner ominously warned Google and X that they would be held to the obligations of the then-allegedly voluntary code. In July, the E.U. Code of Conduct on Disinformation was integrated into the EU’s draconian Digital Services Act, which targets “illegal hate speech” and “disinformation” online.
The code of conduct pushes “media platforms, publishers, and ad tech companies” into “taking meaningful enforcement and remediation steps to avoid the placement of advertising next to disinformation content or on sources that repeatedly violate these policies [Emphasis added].”
Signatories of the code are also given a deadline to come up with a way to “report on demonetisation efforts,” along with requirements to report on their processes for demonetization and the frequency of demonetization efforts. Signatories are also required to crack down on so-called disinformation and make the requirements and review processes for ways creators can make money on social media more stringent. These demonetization efforts enjoy pride of place in the report and its graphics.
Distance does not necessarily keep Americans safe from European efforts to police and demonetize online speech.
During the 2024 Presidential election, then-E.U. Commissioner Thierry Breton threatened X-owner Elon Musk, telling him to avoid certain topics during an interview with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
U.K. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley also warned foreigners that he would “throw the full force of the law” at them for their online speech. In fact, this has come to pass, as ‘The IT Crowd’ creator Graham Linehan, an Irish citizen, has been arrested in the U.K. for posts made during a period he lived in America.
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.
