The US is reportedly planning a new digital tool to help users bypass local content bans, allowing people worldwide to continue to watch banned content.
This move comes against a backdrop of ever increasing government control of the online world by other western governments that claim to want to combat child abuse and so-called hate speech.
There have been growing concerns in the US over censorship in the European Union and in Brazil and the UK.
The US State Department is developing an online portal, to be hosted at “freedom.gov”, that would enable people in Europe and beyond to access content prohibited by their national authorities, three sources familiar with the plans told Reuters today.
This includes material labelled as alleged hate speech or terrorist propaganda, with Washington framing the project as a counter to authoritarian censorship.
One source indicated that discussions have included integrating a virtual private network (VPN) feature, allowing users’ traffic to appear as if originating from the US, while emphasising that no user activity would be tracked.
The US House Judiciary Committee Republicans have ramped up their blistering assault on the European Union’s Digital Services Act, exposing what they call a “secret censorship order”. https://t.co/iplYRhv6EI
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) January 29, 2026
A State Department spokesperson, responding to Reuters, clarified that there is no censorship circumvention programme specifically targeted at Europe.
The spokesperson reiterated, though: “Digital freedom is a priority for the State Department and that includes the proliferation of privacy and censorship circumvention technologies like VPNs.”
The portal’s development reflects broader US efforts to promote open internet access globally, although details on its launch timeline remain unclear.
This US push comes amid escalating restrictions of online expression in Europe.
According to Republicans, online policies are mainly used to suppress conservative viewpoints and even manipulate election outcomes, as in Romania, where the right-wing candidate was ousted based unsubstantiated claims of online foreign influence.
On top of this, the US has grown increasingly irked by the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), viewing it as a form of extraterritorial overreach that threatens free speech and compels US tech platforms to impose censorship globally in ways incompatible with First Amendment protections.
Washington’s frustration has manifested in sharp diplomatic criticism, congressional investigations and visa restrictions on EU officials involved in DSA enforcement.
Brussels Signal reached out to the European Commission for a reaction but had not received a reply at the time of writing.
In Germany, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), used a high-profile speech at the party’s Political Ash Wednesday event in Trier yesterday to demand that social media users post under their real names.
He argued that anonymity undermines constructive discourse, linking it to broader calls for social media curbs to protect youth from harmful content.
“We in politics also use our real names, so I expect the same from everyone who criticises our country,” Merz stated.
German Chancellor Merz:
Even the most absurd political opinion must be allowed to be expressed in an open and free society. The limit for us is the Basic Law and human dignity.
I have also said this to our American friends: you may see it differently, but we see it this way,… pic.twitter.com/ouGSAn8aW5
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 19, 2026
Politicians, though, are afforded protections under German law and Merz himself has initiated hundreds of criminal complaints against online insults when he was leader of the opposition.
He took people to court over name calling such as “little Nazi”, “fool” and “dirty drunkard”.
Merz used a Bavarian online agency called So Done that monitors negative online content and initiates legal action on behalf of clients, receiving half of the fines imposed in resulting cases.
Because of this, news outlet Die Welt called Merz “one of the most sensitive politicians in the history of the Federal Republic”.
It also noted: “On several occasions, people from the So Done environment themselves have exceeded the limits of legality” and some house raids by the police for insults were declared unlawful by courts due to a lack of proportionality.
A man has been fined €6,000 for insulting politicians from the German Greens over their handling of the COVID pandemic.https://t.co/aU61LUmjnA
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 19, 2024
Update:
In a reply to Brussels Signal, a Commission spokeperson said they had “no specific comment to make on potential plans” and stressed that “the Commission does not block websites in the EU.”
“Only Member States’ authorities may block a website which is illegal to national or European law. This includes websites promoting hate speech or terrorist content.
“This has nothing to do with free speech, which is a fundamental right in the EU.
And the Digital Services Act is protecting that right, by allowing users to challenge content moderation decisions through platforms.
“More generally speaking – if we have a look at public indexes on freedom online, there is no better place than Europe. All top countries on that list are European countries.”
