The European Union must not “interfere in US politics” via its attempts to censor the internet, a letter signed by a senior Republican politician has warned.
Congressman Jim Jordan, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, directed the warning to the EU’s self-styled “digital enforcer”, Thierry Breton, in a letter last week.
Jordan blasted Breton for threatening X-owner Elon Musk with legal consequences should he fail to censor an interview with former president Donald Trump he conducted on the social media platform. The GOP lawmaker warned that such threats constituted an unacceptable attempt at interfering in US discourse.
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“In light of your recent threats of reprisal toward X Corp., an American company, for facilitating political discourse in the United States, we write to demand that you stop any attempt to intimidate individuals or entities engaged in political speech in the United States and that you take no action to otherwise interfere in the American democratic process,” Jordan wrote on behalf of his committee.
The letter reportedly goes on to accuse the EU of trying to “censor great Americans like Elon Musk”, before threatening the EU with an investigation if it opts to interfere further.
According to the New York Post, Jordan has also hit the US State Department with subpoenas over the affair, demanding that the Biden administration hand over documents relating to its communications with the EU that could shed light on the online censorship.
“The silence from the pro-censorship Biden-Harris Administration is deafening—you would think censorship of American speech by foreign governments would be a step too far even for them,” he told the publication.
Jordan’s letter is the latest instance of backlash against Breton over last week’s letter.
The EU leader’s demands for censorship incensed much of the Right in the US and EU, with many accusing Brussels of trying to sabotage Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign.
Trump himself speculated the attack could be down to the EU’s dislike of his isolationist trade positions.
“The European Union should mind their own business instead of trying to meddle in the US Presidential election,” a spokesman for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, said.
“Let us be very clear — the European Union is an enemy of free speech and has no authority of any kind to dictate how we campaign.”
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
