MCC Brussels wins landmark free-speech court battle
The Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) Brussels, a leading conservative educational and think-tank organisation associated with Hungary's Government, has won its final…
Free speech
Latest reporting and analysis on free speech.
Russia jails schoolgirl for four years for posters of pro-Kyiv fighters
A Russian court Thursday upheld a four-year prison term for a 17-year-old girl who hung posters of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters in her school, Russian independent…
MEPs want independent EU social media to counter X after Grok scandal
European lawmakers are demanding the creation of a European Union social media source to counter the influence of X following the Grok scandal.
UK, France mull social media bans for youth as debate rages
Countries including France and Britain are considering following Australia's lead by banning children and some teenagers from using social media, but experts are…
Berlin court acquits left-winger activist who forged AfD letters
A German left-winger who faked and sent out letters purportedly written by right-wing opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) had been acquitted by a court…
UPDATED: European court orders Slovenia to pay damages to magazine over Goebbels jibe
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Slovenia to pay more than €15,000 in costs and damages to leftist magazine Mladina.
UK investigates X and contemplates ban, US pushes back
The UK regulator for communications, Ofcom, has launched a formal investigation into X following reports that the US Grok AI chatbot account on the platform was…
Polish President vetoes government’s attempt to implement EU’s digital regime
Poland’s President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed legislation passed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government that sought to implement the European Union’s Digital…
German State PM under fire for demanding crackdown on news sites and social media
Daniel Günther, the Conservative Prime Minster of the German State of Schleswig-Holstein, has come under fire for publicly embracing censorship of critical news…
German media faces political censorship under EU-driven legislation
German newsrooms and tech companies may soon face searches and material seizures without a judicial warrant under a new draft law approved by the federal cabinet.
Tusk government announces special units to combat ‘hate crimes’ in Poland
Poland’s justice minister Waldemar Żurek has announced the government will create special units of prosecutors around the country to deal with crimes “motivated…
Censorship: EU online regulation is not about protection, it is about narrative control
It has been a tumultuous end of the year for transatlantic relations.
Swiss journalist Roger Köppel facing EU sanctions over alleged pro-Russian narratives
Roger Köppel, the Swiss journalist and editor-in-chief of the weekly Die Weltwoche, could be added to a European Union sanctions list amid concerns that his reporting…
The EU Gulag, part II: Elections only stand if voters make the ‘right’ choice
The following are excerpts from a speech recently given by Seth Hertlein to the Patriots for Europe Foundation, Brussels.
Spotify says piracy activists hacked its music catalogue
Music streaming service Spotify said yesterday it had disabled accounts from a piracy activist hacker group that claimed to have "backed up" millions of Spotify's…
The EU Gulag, part I: Digital information, a most perfect method of control
The following are excerpts from a speech recently given by Seth Hertlein to the Patriots for Europe Foundation, Brussels.
Exclusive: Brothers of Italy seeks to bridge diverging US and EU interests
Despite speculation that Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni -- a politician with a famously close relationship with US President Trump -- is now adopting a more…
EU’s crackdown on X shows desperation not strength
The recent rabid, full-on attack on Elon Musk's X by the European Commission represents a new chapter in Brussels’ attempts to purge the public square of inconvenient…
Blasphemy law victim thanks God — and European Parliament — for release
Pakistani blasphemy law victim Shagufta Kausar thanked both God and the European parliament for her release from a Punjabi prison while in Brussels yesterday.
Attempt to censor a right-wing publisher sparks cultural firestorm in Italy
Italy has once again become the epicentre of a culture clash — this time over the attempted exclusion of a right-wing publisher with clear ties to the ruling party,…
Swiss man jailed for Facebook comment criticising trans ideology
A man from Switzerland has been handed a prison sentence for posting a comment on Facebook that supposedly denigrated trans people.
In Italy, UN envoy Albanese accused of justifying violence against journalists
In Italy, Francesca Albanese, the UN envoy responsible for the occupied Palestinian territories, is at the centre of a political firestorm.
German journalist claims ‘massive restriction of press freedom’ by hard-left at anti-AfD protests
Paul Ronzheimer, deputy editor-in-chief of Germany’s most-read newspaper Bild, has claimed a “massive restriction of press freedom” after left-wing protesters…
Pro-Palestinian Activists Raid La Stampa: Press Freedom Debate Erupts in Italy
A fierce debate over press freedom has erupted in Italy after the newsroom of La Stampa was raided, occupied, and vandalised by left-wing, pro-Palestinian activists.
What? I start with freedom for a Danish MP and end up with Chinese sex dolls
Freedom is never free. It is not free of cost, or of supervision, or of limits.
Polish journalist charged over reporting Warsaw demonstration
A Polish journalist was charged with disturbing the peace at a Warsaw demonstration he was covering as a reporter, asking questions of participants at the gathering.
Imam’s deportation highlights Italian crackdown on Gaza protests
The deportation of an Imam from Turin, Italy has spurred demonstrations from pro-Palestinian activists, left-wing movements and immigrant communities amid a growing…
Polish court convicts protester for ‘insulting’ PM Tusk’s office
A man has been convicted in a Polish court of insulting the office of Prime Minister, held by Donald Tusk.
EU ‘disregards censorship concerns’ in review of online policing law
European regulators are facing criticism for sidelining concerns about censorship and free speech in their ongoing review of the Digital Services Act (DSA).
‘Rising suppression of Christian religious expression’ across Europe, says report
Christians in Europe are seeing their "religious expression suppressed" through an expanding web of legal action and growing public intolerance.