Carlo Fidanza, MEP for the Brothers of Italy Party, has strongly criticised European Union chiefs over their censorship demands regarding X and its owner Elon Musk.
Threats issued by the EU’s self-styled “digital enforcer” Thierry Breton did not sit well with Fidanza, who took to social media to blast the increasing calls for online censorship originating from EU Liberal politicians.
“A week after EU Commissioner Breton’s letter, disowned by the European Commission itself, which pre-emptively threatened to shut down X in Europe for ‘being guilty’ of hosting a dialogue between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, today the so-called ‘European liberals’ are back on the attack,” he wrote.
“Sandro Gozi — former Renzi supporter, now loyal to Macron — ups the ante: ‘If Musk doesn’t comply with our laws, the EU will shut down X,’ he told La Repubblica,” the MEP continued.
Brussels has denied it had any involvement in a threatening open letter sent by Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton to X-owner Elon Musk. https://t.co/Z6aFSIPqDc
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) August 14, 2024
“There’s an irrepressible desire for censorship in this dilapidated contemporary Left, whether post-communist or liberal, it no longer makes a difference.”
“They are terrified of freedom of expression, allergic to opinions that don’t align with their mainstream, inquisitors of anyone who doesn’t submit to their stifling cloak of conformism. Their false do-goodism now struggles to hide their true nature.”
The Brothers of Italy party, which is part of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament, also posted on social media about the issue.
“Freedom of expression is sacred and any attempt to curb it through pressure or threats is an attack on democracy,” the party said.
“The statements of Sandro Gozi, secretary of the European Democratic Party, are simply unacceptable.”
On August 13, European Commissioner Thierry Breton threatened to ban X in Europe if Musk refused to enforce EU-backed censorship rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA) during his then-forthcoming interview with former US president Donald Trump.
On August 19, Sandro Gozi, a senior EU representative for French President Emmanuel Macron’s Ensemble coalition, backed the demand from Breton, telling the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that X “must respect the DSA directive on disinformation and incitement to hatred” or face prohibition.
La libertà di espressione è sacra e ogni tentativo di imbrigliarla attraverso pressioni o minacce è un attacco alla democrazia
Le affermazioni di Sandro Gozi, segretario del Partito Democratico Europeo, sono semplicemente inaccettabili. pic.twitter.com/9NW84HbEpm
— Fratelli d'Italia 🇮🇹 (@FratellidItalia) August 19, 2024
