Freedom of speech under siege: Von der Leyen is Putinizing the European Union

@ElentirENG ES 8·13·2024 · 7:00 0

The most common temptation for politicians is to abuse their power and use it to exert increasing control over society.

Elon Musk denounces an illegal attempt by Von der Leyen to impose censorship on Twitter
Von der Leyen: not a single tweet of support for the democrats of Cuba and Venezuela in 5 years

Unusual letter from a European commissioner pressuring Musk against an interview

The legislative diarrhoea in which the European Union is immersed under Ursula von der Leyen is a clear example of this temptation. The EU is becoming a mega-state bent on controlling everything, often through directives whose approval process is carried out behind the backs of citizens, but also through more opaque and irregular procedures, such as exerting pressure outside the law.

On Monday, Twitter owner Elon Musk announced a public conversation with Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for the presidency of the United States. In response to that announcement, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Frenchman Thierry Breton (EPP), published an unusual letter issuing warnings to Musk, in which he states that the owner of Twitter has an obligation to put in place "all proportionate and effective mitigation measures are put in place regarding the amplification of harmful content in connection with relevant events, including live streaming."

Von der Leyen's silence in the face of Nicolás Maduro's crimes

The paradox is that the European Commission has been silent for two weeks in the face of Nicolás Maduro's abuses and atrocities after his latest electoral fraud in Venezuela, as if the murders, arrests and torture committed by that dictatorship were not its problem, but it does have time to interfere in an interview between two United States citizens. This makes clear the mentality of the politicians who make up the current European Commission, made up of a coalition of socialists and members of the European People's Party.

Von der Leyen is Putinizing the European Union

As regards the exercise of freedom of expression, prior censorship is intolerable in a democratic society, whatever its disguise. If a politician believes that someone has expressed an opinion that exceeds the limits of that freedom, he or she must report it to the courts. A regime in which rulers try to restrict the freedom of expression of their political rivals is what exists in Russia, under the dictatorship of Vladimir Putin.

In July, Elon Musk denounced that the European Commission proposed a secret and illegal agreement: "if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us." Other social media platforms agreed. Twitter's owner refused. That explains letters like Breton's, which are a clear demonstration that Von der Leyen and her commission are Putinizing the European Union, exhibiting the same taste for control and censorship as the Russian dictator.

How far will they end up going with their pressure?

After what happened yesterday, it is worth asking: How many more media outlets has the commission written to in order to put pressure on content that it does not like? And where is the audience limit for the EU to subject us to surveillance for our opinions? Today the excuse is that Musk has more than 190 million followers on Twitter, as if having a large audience undermines his right to freedom of expression. How long will it take them to send threatening letters to television channels, newspapers, digital journals or blogs like this one?

We need to protect ourselves from politicians who abuse their power

Obviously, no despot admits to abusing his power out of vice. They pretend they do this to protect us from “harmful content,” a label that can cover anything that some politicians don’t like. Recall that in 2021, when Twitter was owned by the leftist Jack Dorsey, a Vox MP was censored for saying that “a man cannot get pregnant”. The European Commission has never protested against such cases of censorship. In 2022, it was discovered that several governments were exercising censorship on Facebook without going through the courts (is the European Commission among them?).

What a democratic society needs is protection from politicians who abuse their power. And the most effective way is to ensure that these politicians have as little and controlled power as possible, that is, a limited state. In such a state, a letter like Breton's would mean immediate dismissal for its author and impeachment proceedings against Von der Leyen for abusing her power.

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Photo: Efe. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.