Another thing for Europe and the United States does not agree to: “freedom of expression”

President Trump and Europe are colliding with the customs tariff, the war in Ukraine and the purpose of the existence of the European Union. But it is also divided into freedom of expression-with long-term repercussions on how to organize the digital world.

The European Union is looking into American companies under Digital Services LawA new law aims to prevent illegal content and mislead on the Internet. In the first main issue approaching the summary, it is expected to be this summer duty Great penalties – including a fine and demands to change products – Elon Musk, X social media platformThe saying of the law was violated.

But the administration of Mr. Trump believes that the law is a blow against freedom of expression: one escapes from its allies to say what they want online, but restricts the types of expression that it does not agree with in the real world, such as protests in universities.

President Argue Europe is at risk of “their wonderful loss of freedom of expression.” Vice President JD Vance accused European countries of “digital censorship” because of their laws, which argue that restricts far -right voices on the Internet.

Both administration officials and their allies in major technology companies have suggested that Europe’s bases to reduce misleading information and online speech are an attack on American companies – which the United States can resist.

Since the inauguration of Mr. Trump, Europe and the United States have repeatedly clashed. On Ukraine, Mr. Trump contacted support and threat Lack of defense European countries that do not invest enough in their security. On trade, Mr. Trump announced this week Widespread On Europe. While European organizers begin to implement new social media rules, freedom of expression has become another flash point.

“We are now in this predicament: the discussion of freedom of expression affects every aspect of the relationship across the Atlantic Ocean,” said David Salvo, a researcher at the German Marshall Fund, an expert in building democracy. “It’s a chaos.”

Even before the 2024 elections, Mr. Vance in Podcast argued that America could consider linking its support to NATO to “respect” American values ​​and freedom of expression. In February, Mr. Vans to talk At the security conference in Munich and warned that “freedom of expression, I am afraid, decline.”

Such comments come even because the American administration has itself Quarrel Universities to speak on their sanctity, Activists arrested the supporters of the Palestiniansand Journalists were injured From the White House Press Group, holidays related to the canceled identity in federal institutions and Policies developed This led to banned books in some schools – movements that disturbed freedom of expression watch dogs.

In Europe, officials firmly objected to criticizing their laws, on the pretext that they are helping to protect freedom of expression, for example by ensuring that some ideas are not promoted secretly by platforms even with the suppression of others.

“We are not the Ministry of Truth,” the European Union, a spokesman for the European Union, said, referring to the Destroid power responsible for government propaganda in “1984”.

However, some European policies surrounding digital services may be attacked. In February I published a note Warning that technology laws in the European Union have been examined to unnecessarily target American companies.

“Of course, our feeling that they will use the definitions to push us to retract technology,” said Anna Kavazini, the German actress of the Green Party, who was part of a trip to Washington for European legislators to meet their American counterparts on digital policy issues and speech.

Tension dates back. Europe has long prefers more handrails over speech, while America gives personal rights over almost everything except Instant audience safety. Germany has banned a specific discourse related to Nazism, while other countries restrict certain forms of hate speech towards religious groups. In Denmark, it is also illegal To burn the Qur’an.

But while these accurate differences have been present for a long time, the Internet and social media have now made the issue a geopolitical pressure point. This was severely exacerbated by the new administration.

The digital services law does not prevent specific content, but it requires companies that companies have guarantees to remove illegal content based on national or international laws, and focuses on whether moderate content decisions are taken in a transparent manner.

“This is a question about how to ensure that your services are safe to use and respect the land law in which you do,” said Margareth Vestaggar, former CEO of the European Commission from Denmark who supervised the fight against digital and digital policy from 2014 to 2024.

Christiel Shaldouz, who sponsored the law through negotiations for the European Parliament, said the law protects freedom of expression. “You have no right to amplification,” she added.

The issue against X will be the first major test of the law. In the first part of the investigation that the organizers now end Violate Due to its lack of overseeing the verified account system, the weak advertising transparency and its failure to provide data for external researchers.

In another part of the issue, the European Union authorities achieve whether the approach that its X’s hands to buy the content created by users has made it a center of illegal hate speech, misinformation and other materials that may reduce democracy.

This week, x He said The European Union’s actions were “an unprecedented actually political control and an attack on freedom of expression.”

European Union officials were forced to weigh the geopolitical repercussions to target a company owned by one of the closest advisers of Mr. Trump.

“Will they do the man that friends win with the president?” William Sada, an oldest unknown colleague in the Technical Policy Program at the European Policy Analysis Center, said.

X is not the only main technology company in the conversation.

Meta, which is also subject to an investigation into the European Union, canceled its use of facts in Facebook, Instagram and Threads in the United States shortly after the elections, and may eventually pull them around the world. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the company, He called The European Union regulations “censorship” have argued that the United States should defend its technology companies against the attack.

This is not the first time that America and Europe have different criteria for online speech. European courts I supported The idea that data about a person can be It is erased from the InternetThe so -called “right to forget”. Legal experts and American policy makers have seen a violation of freedom of expression.

But the alliance between Mr. Trump and major technology companies – which encouraged him – expands the gap.

European officials have pledged that the Trump administration would not prevent them from standing alongside their values ​​and enforcing their new legislation. The next few months will be a pivotal test of what they can adhere to these plans.

Ms. Shalmmuz said, when Washington visited earlier this year to speak with the legislators, she did not find a little appetite to try to understand the list she helped achieve.

She said: “It is not appropriate for the administration’s agenda: it does not help them understand.” “We are not targeting them, but it is seen in this way.”