Europe’s Speech Laws Are Coming for America

Summary

Morning Wire Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Europe’s Speech Laws Are Coming for America
Host: John Bickley and Georgia Howe
Release Date: July 5, 2025
Guest: Jeremy Tedesco, Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement at Alliance Defending Freedom
Duration: Approximately 7 minutes (based on transcript timestamps)

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Introduction

In this episode of Morning Wire, hosts John Bickley and Georgia Howe delve into the implications of the European Union's newly enforced Digital Services Act (DSA) and its potential repercussions for American free speech. They are joined by Jeremy Tedesco from Alliance Defending Freedom, who provides expert insights into how these regulations might reshape the landscape of online discourse in the United States.

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Understanding the Digital Services Act (DSA)

Overview of the DSA
Jeremy Tedesco begins by explaining the essence of the EU's Digital Services Act, highlighting its transition from a proposed framework to a mandatory set of regulations.

“The Digital Services act has actually been around for a while. It's just now becoming truly mandatory. But what it is is essentially a blueprint for total narrative control in the digital age.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [01:28]

Mechanics of Control
Tedesco emphasizes that the DSA imposes stringent censorship requirements on global social media platforms and search engines, threatening them with billions in fines if they fail to comply with the EU's broad definitions of hate speech and disinformation.

“The EU's definitions of those words, which can't be defined really at all because they're so vague, it's really in the eye of the beholder, completely inconsistent with the free speech standards of the First Amendment in the United States.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [01:28]

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Impact on American Companies and Free Speech

Global Reach and Enforcement
The DSA doesn't limit its scope to the EU; instead, it targets American companies, forcing them to adhere to EU standards worldwide. Tedesco points out the inefficacy of geofencing as a means to localize these regulations.

“These regulations apply almost exclusively to United States companies, and the companies can't geofence so that the EU standards only apply in EU member states.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [02:28]

Real-World Implications
An example cited is the suspension of 11,000 Twitter accounts due to EU's COVID-19 disinformation rules when the DSA was still voluntary, indicating a precedent for increased censorship under mandatory enforcement.

“We know that 11,000 accounts on Twitter were suspended because of the EU's definition of COVID disinformation.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

Threat to Free Speech
Tedesco warns that the DSA represents a significant threat to American free speech by allowing the EU to become arbiters of truth online.

“Essentially is the EU setting themselves up as the arbiters of truth online.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

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Responses from Social Media Companies

Compliance Measures
Social media platforms are compelled to delete, restrict, or shadow ban content deemed harmful according to EU standards. This shift from voluntary to mandatory compliance exacerbates censorship concerns.

“The companies have to start deleting, restricting, shadow, banning any speech that could possibly come into conflict with EU laws on hate speech and disinformation.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

Consequences of Non-Compliance
Failure to adhere to these regulations could result in crippling fines, further pressuring companies to conform to the EU's stringent standards.

“That's only going to get worse. The censorship isn't going to get better in a mandatory world where the companies truly are facing these crippling fines if they don't censor.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

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Shift in U.S. Administration's Stance

From Biden to Trump
Tedesco contrasts the Biden administration's collaboration with the EU on censorship efforts with the Trump administration's recent countermeasures aimed at dismantling these initiatives.

“The Biden administration was a full participant in the censorship aims... But the Daily Wire was, of course, one of the targets of all that.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

Trump Administration's Actions
Under Trump, significant steps were taken to reduce federal support for censorship, including halting funding for key nonprofit organizations and shutting down departments like the Global Engagement Center.

“They shut down entire departments like the Global Engagement center, that were kind of the tip of the spear when it came to that under the Biden administration.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

Ongoing Challenges
Despite these efforts, Tedesco asserts that the underlying problem of censorship persists, particularly with international regulations like the DSA encroaching on American speech.

“It doesn't solve the censorship problem online, just to stop the federal government from everything it was doing.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

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Looking Forward: Diplomatic Efforts and Advocacy

Encouraging Developments
The hosts express optimism regarding JD Vance's commentary on the issue and President Trump's prioritization of free speech, anticipating diplomatic negotiations with European counterparts.

“We certainly have been encouraged by how much JD Vance has talked about this issue. President Trump has certainly prioritized free speech and diplomatic conversations and negotiations with European countries.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

Role of Ambassador Anthony Puzder
Tedesco mentions the anticipated involvement of Ambassador Anthony Puzder in addressing these challenges, hoping for proactive measures against the DSA.

“We hope that starts to ramp up, really, with the EU as well as Ambassador Anthony Puzder, who's the ambassador to the European Union, hits the ground sometime soon.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

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Conclusion

The episode underscores the significant threat posed by the EU's Digital Services Act to American free speech, highlighting the precarious position of U.S. companies and the broader implications for online discourse. With the Trump administration actively opposing these censorship measures, there remains a glimmer of hope for safeguarding free expression against stringent international regulations.

“It's a blueprint for censorship in the digital age, and we need to stop it.”
— Jeremy Tedesco [02:28]

Final Thoughts by Hosts
John Bickley and Georgia Howe wrap up the discussion, reaffirming the importance of staying informed and vigilant against emerging threats to free speech.

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Notable Quotes:

1. “The Digital Services act has actually been around for a while. It's just now becoming truly mandatory. But what it is is essentially a blueprint for total narrative control in the digital age.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [01:28]

2. “These regulations apply almost exclusively to United States companies, and the companies can't geofence so that the EU standards only apply in EU member states.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [02:28]

3. “We know that 11,000 accounts on Twitter were suspended because of the EU's definition of COVID disinformation.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

4. “The companies have to start deleting, restricting, shadow, banning any speech that could possibly come into conflict with EU laws on hate speech and disinformation.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [04:23]

5. “The Biden administration was a full participant in the censorship aims... But the Daily Wire was, of course, one of the targets of all that.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [06:05]

6. “It's a blueprint for censorship in the digital age, and we need to stop it.”
   — Jeremy Tedesco [02:28]

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This comprehensive summary captures the key discussions and insights from the Morning Wire episode, providing listeners with a clear understanding of the EU's Digital Services Act and its potential impact on American free speech and social media platforms.

Transcript

[Narrator]

The European Union is now imposing its new code of conduct policies for all social media platforms and search engines that will force them to comply with strict censorship laws or be hit with crippling fines. The move will impact some 500 million people, including Americans.

[John Bickley]

In this episode, we sit down with an expert from Alliance Defending Freedom to discuss how the EU's new policies will impact Americans and how social media companies and the Trump administration are responding. I'm Daily Wire Executive editor John Bickley with Georgia hal. It's Saturday, July 5th, and this is a weekend edition of Morning Wire.

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[John Bickley]

Joining us now to discuss the EU's new online censorship policies is Jeremy Tedesco, senior Vice President of Corporate engagement at Alliance Defending Freedom. Jeremy, thank you for coming on.

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Yeah, it's my pleasure, John.

[John Bickley]

So most of our audience will not have heard about Europe's Digital Services act before, so let's start there. What exactly is that in these new code of conduct policies?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Yeah, the Digital Services act has actually been around for a while. It's just now becoming truly mandatory. But what it is is essentially a blueprint for total narrative control in the digital age. What it does is it takes the EU's draconian speech standards and it imposes it on Americans and everybody in the world, really, by threatening big American platforms and search engines with literally billions in fines if they fail to censor speech that the EU deems to be hate speech or disinformation. And Trust me, the EU's definitions of those words, which can't be defined really at all because they're so vague, it's really in the eye of the beholder, completely inconsistent with the free speech standards of the First Amendment in the United States.

[John Bickley]

Now your organization is really sounding the alarm over the DSA and particularly how it will affect Americans. Can you unpack that for us? Why is this such a serious situation? Censorship threat?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Well, these regulations apply almost exclusively to United States companies, and the companies can't geofence so that the EU standards only apply in EU member states. The companies have to. Their technology doesn't allow them, the geofence algorithms and how they train AI and all these other things. And so these standards are absolutely going to apply to the kind of speech we can engage in online in the United States. And we know this is true already. Look back in the COVID timeframe, the EU was mandating disinformation on vaccines, on the lab leak theory, all things that turned out to be true. A lot of those views turned out to be true and still valid, even if they weren't true to be spoken. When it comes to American free speech law, those things were taken down because of the Digital Services Act. So we know it has impact on American speech rights right now and in the past. And so it's only going to get worse. One other example I think your listeners should know about was back during the presidential election cycle, last presidential election cycle, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner who was the final enforcer of the dsa, sent a letter to Elon Musk and X when he was hosting President Trump on a X live and said, look, we're really concerned that your interview of President Trump is going to violate the DSA's hateful conduct and incitement standards. And we're throwing this lob across the ocean to tell you, you better be careful what you say. So they're trying to regulate how we speak and how even our presidential candidates speak during an election cycle. So they have really no boundaries to what they want to censor. And again, it's really a blueprint for censorship in the digital age, and we need to stop it.

[Georgia Hal]

How are social media companies responding to these new policies? Have they pushed back against them at all?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Well, the companies themselves are going to be required to mitigate the risk of harmful content being online. And that's harmful content as defined by EU law. And so the companies have to start deleting, restricting, shadow, banning, any speech that could possibly come into conflict with EU laws on hate speech and disinformation. I think about this at a time when the DSA was voluntary for these companies to comply with. We know that 11,000 accounts on Twitter were suspended because of the EU's definition of COVID disinformation. So now that this is going to become mandatory, that's only going to get worse. The censorship isn't going to get better in a mandatory world where the companies truly are facing these crippling fines if they don't censor. Consistent with the EU's view of what's right and wrong? I mean, essentially is the EU setting themselves up as the arbiters of truth online.

[Georgia Hal]

How has this administration been different than the Biden administration in terms of, obviously, this is a long time coming. We've seen these actions really ramping up, like you said in 2020. How different is the administration responding to this as opposed to the previous one?

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Yeah, it's 180 degrees difference with the Trump administration. The Biden administration was a full participant in the censorship aims, not just of the eu, but this entire censorship complex that President Trump talked about during his campaign trail, where private companies, academic institutions, media outlets, nonprofit organizations.

[Georgia Hal]

Daily Wire.

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Yeah, yeah. But the Daily Wire was, of course, one of the targets of all that. Of course. And we're battling that out as you are in court. We are in the public square and with a lot of the companies that did that to you. So the Trump administration has turned that all around. They've stopped a lot of the funding that even our own federal government was funding. A lot of the nonprofit organizations that were a key part of this censorship complex, those ones who flagged content and outlets like yours for censorship. But he's also stopped a lot of the coordination efforts. He shut down entire departments like the Global Engagement center, that were kind of the tip of the spear when it came to that under the Biden administration. But what we've learned as we've dug more and more into this issue is it doesn't solve the censorship problem online, just to stop the federal government from everything it was doing. And this international aim and goal to censor through the DSA and other international efforts to censor is on our doorstep. It's already affecting American speech. It's only going to get worse. And so we certainly have been encouraged by how much JD Vance has talked about this issue. President Trump has certainly prioritized free speech and diplomatic conversations and negotiations with European countries. And we hope that starts to ramp up, really, with the EU as well as Ambassador Anthony Puzder, who's the ambassador to the European Union, hits the ground sometime soon.

[Georgia Hal]

Well, we've just seen how effective Trump can be in strong arming Europe at the NATO summit. So we'll see if he can force Europe's hand here as well. Jeremy, thank you so much for joining us.

[Jeremy Tedesco]

Yep, thank you.

[Georgia Hal]

That was Alliance Defending Freedom's Jeremy Tedesco, and this has been a weekend edition of Morning Wire.