Swedish court delays expulsion of Iraq-born Quran-burning protester
A court has delayed the expulsion of Iraq-born Salwan Momika, who took part in several Quran-burning protests in Sweden and is facing deportation for providing false…
Free speech
Latest reporting and analysis on free speech.
Kisin: Europe is seeing more censorship as elites are ‘losing control’
Europe is experiencing more and more censorship because the elites feel they are "losing control", Konstantin Kisin, the co-host of the popular podcast Triggernometry,…
Salman Rushdie calls for defence of freedom of speech
World-famous author Salman Rushdie called for the unconditional defence of freedom of expression as he received the German Book Trade Peace Prize in Frankfurt on…
EC signs online censorship deals with Ireland and France
The European Commission has signed an agreement with France and Ireland aimed at getting the two countries to help enforce the bloc's online censorship rules.
Konstantin Kisin confirmed speaker for Brussels Signal launch event
Konstantin Kisin has confirmed as a speaker for the Brussels Signal's launch event.
EC launches investigation into TikTok, Meta over alleged ‘illegal content’
The probe follows an investigation into Elon Musk's X over similar claims that the social media firm might not be doing enough to fight "disinformation" as outlined…
Police injured and 174 arrested after pro-Palestine riot hits German capital
An illegal pro-Palestine demonstration in Berlin turned ugly, resulting in dozens of police officers being injured and 174 protestors arrested on October 18.
EC tells Member States to ‘fast-track’ EU online censorship powers
The European Commission has told European Union Member States to "fast track" the bloc's online censorship powers under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Westminster Declaration: academics sound alarm at increasing censorship
More than 100 prominent intellectuals and academics have written a collective statement, called the Westminster Declaration, regarding threats against free speech…
Brussels ignores Israel, demands censorship of Hamas
The European Commission has ignored anti-censorship pleas from Israel, stating that footage depicting Hamas "atrocities" and "war crimes", or anything to do with…
Israeli Ambassador rejects EU censorship of Hamas ‘war crimes’
The Israeli Ambassador to NATO and the European Union, Haim Regev, has rejected an EU push to have Hamas atrocities censored online.
Big Tech bosses can ‘no longer hide’ from EU censorship, Breton says
Big Tech bosses can "no longer hide" from the European Union's censorship drive, said European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton.
EU turns screw on X over alleged ‘hate speech’ as censorship crusade expands
The European Union has launched a preliminary investigation into Elon Musk's X over claims it allowed "hate speech" and other forms of "illegal content" on the site.
X bends to Brussels’ will over Israel-Hamas censorship demands
Elon Musk's X has kowtowed to Brussels after the European Union’s censorship tsar Thierry Breton demanded a clampdown on "illegal" content linked to the Hamas…
EU threatens Musk with ultimatum to censor ‘disinformation’ on X
The European Union has issued X owner Elon Musk with an ultimatum, ordering the tech billionaire to censor so-called "disinformation" or face being sanctioned under…
Europe’s capital needs media to challenge the status quo: That’s why Brussels Signal is launching
Access to information - and indeed the dissemination of it - has been massively democratised over the last quarter century.
Sacré bleu: ‘No English in adverts!’ demand defenders of the French language
A campaign is underway in France against the use of English in advertisements.
European Socialists are ‘cowards’
European Socialists are cowards, former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told a Brussels soirée last week.
Facial recognition technology now available to Western states could make China look like amateurs in mass surveillance
For me, the moment the surveillance society really began to hit home was as far back as 2010, when primary schools in the UK started fingerprinting their pupils…
EU Media Freedom Act ‘violates founding treaty’, Polish MEP claims
"The European Media Freedom Act tries to bring in provisions that violate the Treaties," Elżbieta Kruk told Parliament.
EU mulls censorship protection for approved media outlets
The European Union is considering giving certain forms of online censorship protection to media outlets it approves of.
‘1984 was not a manual, it was a warning!’ Pirate MEP berates EU social media censorship bid
In an interview with Brussels Signal, Mikuláš Peksa, one of the EU's leading Pirate Party politicians, warned that the bloc was heading in an increasingly authoritarian,…
EU calls on Bosnian-Serb Parliament to drop law proposing labelling of NGOs as ‘foreign agents’
The European Union is urging the Serb-controlled part of Bosnia-Herzegovina to withdraw proposed legislation that brands non-profit organisations (NGOs) funded from…
Irish Government’s anti-racism pledge could ‘undermine academic freedom’
An Irish Government's anti-racism pledge for universities runs the risk of endangering academic freedom, a lecturer has warned.
Dora Moutot: French journalist and activist discusses the violent state of France, the laziness of French media and the spread of self-censorship
Dora Moutot has been a journalist since 2012.
Musk lashes out amid accusation X supports EU state censorship
US tech billionaire Elon Musk has lashed out online amid criticism of his X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
Schools in Belgium torched after sex-education lessons introduced
Five schools have been set on fire in Belgium amid anger over newly implemented relational, emotional and sex education for children.
German journalist says he will stop criticising Islam after spate of threats
A high-profile journalist in Germany has announced that he no longer intends to discuss or criticise Islam after a recent spate of threats levelled against him.
Ability to shut down undesirable social media is ‘proportionate’, EC insists
The European Union's power to unilaterally shut down certain social media websites deemed problematic is "proportionate", the European Commission has insisted.
Sweden Democrats MEP invites Iranian artist to Brussels after exhibition ban U-turn
Sweden Democrats MEP Charlie Weimers has invited the Iranian artist Sadaf Ahmadi to the European Parliament after the Swedish city of Borås cancelled her exhibition,…