The Biden-Harris administration refuses to publicly condemn threats against American freedom of speech by the European Union over an interview with Donald Trump and Elon Musk on his social media platform, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee has revealed.
A letter obtained exclusively by Breitbart News from Chairman Jordan to Secretary of State Antony Blinken disclosed that the U.S. State Department told lawmakers that it has no intention of publicly objecting to threats of censorship against an American social media company made by the EU Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union Thierry Breton.
The letter from Jordan also revealed that the State Department is in possession of communications surrounding Breton’s threats against Elon Musk’s X platform but has yet to provide them to the Judiciary Committee.
Hours before the Tesla CEO and former President Donald Trump were due to conduct an X Spaces interview on August 12, Breton, who served until this week as the EU’s censorship czar, issued a public letter warning Mr Musk that he would use all powers afforded to him under Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which include large fines and even a potential ban within the bloc.
Breton insisted that the live interview with the Republican presidential candidate not violate the speech restrictions of Brussels, including the dissemination of “content that may incite violence, hate and racism”. The French politician went on to demand that Musk implement “mitigation measures” to prevent the “amplification of harmful content” that may “generate detrimental effects on civic discourse and public security” in Europe.
The intervention and demand for censorship of a U.S. tech firm and against a presidential candidate sparked accusations that the EU was directly interfering the American electoral process. Yet, such admonishment did not come from the Biden-Harris administration. Jordan wrote that the State Department informed his committee that it “has not, and does not intend to, publicly condemn Mr. Breton’s threats”.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s silence in the face of Mr. Breton’s threats against free speech in the United States signals to the world that it does not support free speech online and is unwilling to protect American companies from foreign actors who seek to punish their adherence to First Amendment principles at home,” wrote Jordan.
“Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration’s refusal to respond to foreign threats of regulatory reprisal sends a clear message that foreign actors may attack American speech from abroad without repercussions,” he warned.
The House Judiciary chairman said that while Mr Breton resigned from his EU Commission post this week, “the threat to fundamental values of free speech remains”.
Under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Brussels has the ability to levy fines against large internet firms, including those based in Europe or abroad, of up to six per cent of their global turnover for failing to abide by the bloc’s speech restrictions. The draconian legislation even provides a mechanism to ban platforms outright from operating within the EU, a potentially powerful tool for Eurocrats to exert influence and pressure on American citizens and companies.
Jordan said that while the executive branch department claimed to have had received “assurances” from the European Commission that Breton had acted unilaterally in issuing the public threat to Musk, this was “not good enough because, as the State Department officials admitted, Mr. Breton, as Commissioner for Internal Markets, had significant power to act alone.”
“In addition, the EC (European Commission) has not made any official statement disavowing Mr. Breton’s threats or provided any ‘assurance’ to American companies to counteract the letter’s chilling effects,” the chairman continued in his letter to Secretary Blinken.
On top of refusing to publicly condemn the censorious threats against an American social media platform, the Biden-Harris administration also confirmed to the House Judiciary Committee that while there are no official cables or memorandums, the State Department is in possession of correspondence surrounding Breton’s threats, which it could produce “without much difficulty”.
The revelation comes amid Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government oversight into how and to what extent the Democrat administration has “coerced or colluded with companies and other intermediaries” to censor lawful speech in the United States.
The Committee chairman called for the State Department to produce by October 1, 2024 “all documents and communications between or among State Department personnel referring or relating to Mr. Breton’s August 12, 2024 letter to Mr. Musk.” Jordan also demanded access to any documents and communications about Breton’s letter between the State Department and any other person, including at the executive branch or any EU official, employee, or representative.
Finally, the State Department was asked to provide any documents or communications among its personnel “referring or relating to any other similar threats by Mr. Breton or other EU officials against American companies.”