Macron rejects “American free speech” model, demands faster EU censorship enforcement

• Macron pushes for tougher enforcement of the EU’s Digital Services Act, calling American-style free speech “the opposite of free speech”
• The DSA lets regulators fine major platforms up to 6% of global revenue, and the EU hit Elon Musk’s X with a €120 million penalty in December 2025
• U.S. officials, including VP J.D. Vance and the Justice Department, accuse Brussels of using the law to target American tech companies
• The dispute has drawn in visa restrictions on EU officials and Trump’s own clash with U.S. outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico
• A House Judiciary Committee probe found EU regulators labeling common political phrases as “hate speech,” raising fears of a global censorship standard

In a direct challenge to American free expression principles, French President Emmanuel Macron criticized what he called “American free speech” while advocating for tougher enforcement of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) during a trip to Spain on Wednesday. The French leader urged Brussels to apply the controversial law “much more extensively, much faster and much more forcefully” to combat online misinformation.

The DSA, adopted in 2022, allows regulators to fine major platforms up to 6% of their global annual revenue for violations. In December 2025, the EU levied its first DSA penalty against Elon Musk’s X platform, ordering the company to pay €120 million. U.S. officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have accused the EU of using the law as a censorship tool targeting American companies.

Macron rejects American-style free expression

Speaking to reporters, Macron argued that the American concept of free speech, as currently practiced by some, represents the opposite of genuine free expression. He contended that individual freedoms carry inherent responsibilities and must respect the rights of others. The French president drew a comparison to walking down a street, stating that personal liberty does not include the freedom to assault, insult, or damage shared public spaces. He insisted that those who distribute content on social media must be held legally accountable, just as journalists and editors face consequences for publishing false information.

The DSA’s enforcement and U.S. backlash

Under the DSA, the world’s largest online platforms — Facebook, X, TikTok, Google, and YouTube among them — must police illegal content, disclose how their advertising and algorithms work, shield minors, and account for risks tied to disinformation, with the strictest obligations reserved for the biggest platforms.

Following the December 2025 fine against X, the U.S. government backed the company’s appeal, arguing the EU had exceeded its authority by targeting an American firm. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said Washington “will not tolerate” Brussels using regulation to rein in American tech companies. Vance called the EU’s actions an attack on American companies over what he termed “garbage” and accused the bloc of eroding free speech.

Broader censorship concerns and European pushback

Last year, the U.S. imposed visa restrictions on European officials tied to online content regulation, among them Thierry Breton, the DSA’s former chief architect at the Commission, who likened the move to McCarthy-era persecution of suspected communists. The dispute has run in both directions: Trump drew his own criticism last month after barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House over claims they peddled “fake news,” a decision a federal judge blocked, finding the outlets would likely prevail in their constitutional challenge.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee has spent months examining whether the DSA pressures platforms into censoring Americans on European regulators’ behalf. Documents obtained under subpoena revealed that European Commission regulators’ May 2025 workshop labeled a hypothetical social media post stating “we need to take back our country” — a common political expression used by figures across the American political spectrum — as “illegal hate speech” requiring removal. Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has warned that the DSA incentivizes platforms to change their global content moderation policies to comply with European demands, effectively creating de facto worldwide censorship standards that threaten First Amendment protections.

For Americans watching from across the Atlantic, Macron’s comments are a reminder that the DSA was never meant to stop at Europe’s borders. A law written in Brussels, enforced against companies headquartered in California and Texas, carries real weight over what an American citizen can post, see, or say online — and no elected official in Washington ever voted for it.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

ADFLegal.org

FoxNews.com

Judiciary.House.gov