The Trump administration has openly criticized European Union (EU) speech restrictions on social media, describing them as “Orwellian” censorship in a recent social media post by the U.S. State Department. The department linked these actions to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
“In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments,” the department stated. “This Orwellian message won’t fool the United States. Censorship is not freedom,” it added, sharing the message alongside a graphic reading, “All the DSA protects is European leaders from their own people.”
The State Department’s remarks come as American social media giants such as Facebook parent company Meta and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) face legal challenges under the DSA, which went into effect in 2022. These companies have been scrutinized under the EU’s stringent content moderation rules for failing to censor their users sufficiently.
