EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen dismissed claims that the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA) threatens free speech, revealing that US platforms’ own terms drive far more content removals than EU regulations, according to Euractiv.
In an exclusive interview with Euractiv, Virkkunen cited transparency data showing 99% of takedowns between September 2023 and April 2024 resulted from platforms like Meta and X enforcing their internal rules, not EU mandates.
Often in the US, platforms have more strict rules with content.
Virkkunen highlighted that just 1% of EU removals stemmed from “trusted flaggers”—entities vetted under the DSA to report illegal content. Of those flagged cases, only 0.001% prompted official takedown decisions by authorities.
EU tech commissioner’s defence follows her recent US visit, where she confronted growing resistance from the Trump administration and tech CEOs.
She framed Meta’s DSA criticisms as protecting “business interest” and service design choices, noting US platforms impose stricter limits on content like euthanasia discussions or classical art nudes than the EU requires. When pressed about slow DSA enforcement against Meta and X, she stressed the need for “a strong legal basis for our decisions.”
The Commissioner shared DSA data with vocal critics like US Representative Jim Jordan—who sent letters attacking the DSA and Digital Markets Act—calling it “valuable information.” She reiterated the DSA applies only in Europe, despite US platforms having more EU users than American ones.
She avoided directly challenging Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg but highlighted contradictions: while US executives decry EU rules, their platforms’ policies drive nearly all content removals. Her stance positions the DSA not as censorship but as a transparency tool exposing corporate moderation practices.
