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Mr. Free Speech Himself… LMAO Even! – Trump Launches Crackdown on EU’s Anti-Free Speech Laws

July 24, 2026

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President Donald Trump’s administration is launching a new international effort to push back against the globalist European Union’s (EU) expanding censorship agenda, warning that so-called “disinformation” and “hate speech” laws threaten one of the West’s most fundamental freedoms.

The administration is circulating a draft declaration ahead of September’s United Nations General Assembly that calls on governments to reject laws that punish allegedly false speech, except in cases of direct incitement to violence.

The proposal has reportedly triggered backlash from unelected European officials, who viewed it as a direct challenge to the EU’s increasingly aggressive speech regulations.

At the center of the dispute is a simple principle: Governments should not have the power to punish citizens simply because officials decide their speech is false.

Trump Targets Europe’s Expanding Speech Controls

According to reports, U.S. diplomats distributed the declaration during international meetings, urging governments to recognize that criminalizing “misinformation,” “disinformation,” or “hate speech” can undermine freedom of expression.

Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers confirmed that the proposal was circulated during OECD discussions.

The draft also calls on governments to stop pressuring online platforms into policing and removing users’ speech.

Rather than demanding countries repeal existing laws, the declaration asks them to acknowledge that punishing allegedly false speech carries serious consequences for free expression.

That position has become increasingly controversial in Brussels, where officials have defended sweeping new regulatory powers over online platforms.

Digital Services Act Under Fire

Although the declaration does not specifically name the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the legislation is widely viewed as the primary target.

The DSA requires major online platforms to identify and mitigate what regulators describe as “systemic risks,” including disinformation and content affecting civic discourse.

Companies that fail to satisfy regulators can face penalties of up to six percent of their global annual revenue.

Critics argue the law effectively forces platforms to censor first and ask questions later.

Because the European Commission determines whether a company’s moderation efforts are sufficient, businesses face enormous financial pressure to remove controversial content before regulators ever determine whether any specific statement is actually false.

Under the system, individual users often receive no formal hearing because enforcement actions are directed at the platforms rather than the speakers themselves.

The result, critics argue, is a powerful chilling effect on lawful speech without the procedural protections normally associated with free expression.

Administration Escalates Pressure on Brussels

The latest initiative follows a series of actions taken by the Trump administration against European censorship policies.

In February 2025, President Trump ordered a review into whether the European Union and the United Kingdom were pressuring American technology companies to censor lawful speech.

Later that year, the House Judiciary Committee released a 145-page report accusing the EU of constructing “a global censorship regime” that “infringes on American online speech.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also directed U.S. diplomats to actively challenge the EU’s speech restrictions abroad.

By December, the administration had barred five European officials from entering the United States over what it described as efforts to censor American viewpoints and signaled potential retaliatory measures against European companies.

EU Defends Its Authority

European officials have defended the Digital Services Act as a legitimate exercise of the bloc’s regulatory authority.

European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho previously stated that “It is the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities on our territory, which are consistent with our democratic values.”

The Commission, which is made up entirely of unelected globalist bureaucrats, has repeatedly emphasized that the DSA was approved through the EU’s legislative process with support from member states.

Critics, however, argue that democratic approval of the legislation does not resolve the central concern: unelected regulators ultimately decide what constitutes “disinformation” and how aggressively online platforms must suppress it.

Unlike the EU’s Digital Services Act, the Trump administration’s proposed U.N. declaration would not create binding legal obligations or impose penalties on governments or technology companies.

Instead, it seeks to establish an international commitment that governments should not punish citizens for allegedly false speech, warning that once authorities claim the power to determine acceptable opinions, freedom of expression inevitably comes under threat.