In February, Vice President JD Vance warned leaders at the Munich Security Conference that the European Union's new Digital Services Act could lead to "authoritarian censorship." He was met with stony-faced silence and denunciations for his "slander."
But this week, even the left-wing Economist warned in a headline: "Europe's Free Speech Problem: JD Vance Was Right."
The Digital Services Act requires online platforms to monitor, moderate, and remove content European bureaucrats deem hate speech, disinformation, and other forms of "harmful" content. This could be "the most comprehensive censorship law ever instituted in a democratic society."
The Economist also put out this wise warning: "Americans worry that Europeans' more restrictive approach to speech will seep into their own public sphere, as tech firms apply a single set of rules globally."
What Europe needs is a First Amendment right of free speech. And what we need in America are better safeguards against censorship, because Progressives are determined to bring European censorship the next time they control the government.
We like the traditional rule on free speech: sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me.
