A senior US Democrat warned MEPs on Tuesday that the Trump administration’s attacks on EU digital rules are aimed at furthering its MAGA-aligned agenda.
The Trump administration is tied to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), Marking as a means of censorship to support its allies and promote far-right parties in Europe, Democratic US Congressman Jamie Raskin told MEPs from the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) on Tuesday.
The Trump administration is “working hard to promote the MAGA movement in Europe under the guise of protecting free speech,” Raskin said, while slamming free speech at home.
In the past year, DSA has become a prime target for Washington’s criticism of EU technology rules. In February, the US House Judiciary Committee — led by Republican Jim Jordan, a close Trump ally — releasing a report that calls DSA a “tool of foreign censorship” and claims it undermines US free speech principles.
The report also revealed the names of nearly 30 EU officials involved in the implementation of the DSA.
In March, Jordan also called major technology companies to access communications with officials involved in implementing the DSA.
Raskin, also a member of the US House Judiciary Committee, said the committee has spent “huge amounts of money and time” issuing dozens of subpoenas and holding hearings on the issue, but warned that the Trump administration is simultaneously “destroying our (US) freedom.”
He also warned that the DSA was being used as a “weapon” in US politics, highlighting divisions among US politicians over its interpretation.
Said the socialist MEP Christel Schaldemose and the reporter for DSA Euractiv it is “unfortunate” that Raskin’s views are not shared by Trump and his administration. DSA “is not about censorship, but about transparency and accountability.”
(aw)
