Both he and the French government recalled that the Digital Services Act had been passed by the EU Parliament and all member states with a large democratic majority. “The peoples of Europe are free and sovereign and do not allow others to impose rules for their digital space,” wrote French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on X. He condemned the US government’s actions and emphasized that European law does not apply in the US.
The US government also imposed sanctions on the founder of the British Global Disinformation Index (GDI), Clare Melford, and the founder of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which operates in the USA and Great Britain, Imran Ahmed. According to the organization, the Brit lives in Washington and is now threatened with deportation from the USA. Both campaign against hate and disinformation on the Internet.
X owner Elon Musk described the Center for Countering Digital Hate as a “criminal organization” last year. The CCDH had classified as disinformation the claim it spread that Trump was trying to be deprived of his victory in the US presidential election through fraud.
In the case of the Global Disinformation Index, Musk had called for the closure of the organization, which, among other things, warns of the risks of generative artificial intelligence (AI) – an important business area of the tech billionaire. The organization also debunked conspiracy myths surrounding the assassination attempt on Trump in July 2024. The UN organization Unesco classifies the GDI as “neutral, independent and transparent”.
Rubio and other US government officials have criticized alleged Internet censorship in Europe several times in the past. For example, the EU Commission’s decision to impose a fine of 120 million euros on Platform X for lack of transparency triggered strong reactions in Washington. Rubio then announced that the days of online censorship for Americans were over.
Trump has criticized European digital laws in the past as distorting competition. His deputy JD Vance spoke of the alleged suppression of freedom of expression in Europe, in which political positions from the right-wing conservative spectrum were primarily censored. Human rights organizations and think tanks that work to preserve the rule of law and democracy, on the other hand, accuse the US government of silencing its critics and banishing unpleasant opinions from political discourse with the help of a tech industry that is geared towards government policy.
In its sanctions announcement, the US State Department also accused HateAid of having been founded after the 2017 federal election with the aim of forming a counterweight to “conservative groups”. The answer from the two founders, who reject a political agenda, was clear: “We will not allow ourselves to be intimidated by a government that exploits accusations of censorship to silence those who advocate for human rights and freedom of expression,” said their statement. HateAid will continue its work with all its might.
