Donald Trump's digital landgrab

New European

2 days ago

The department of the US government most responsible for managing its relationships with friendly nations has accused Europe of engaging in a 'strategy of censorship, demonization, and bureaucratic weaponization'. It goes on to suggest that 'the global liberal project' is 'trampling democracy, and western heritage along with it, in the name of a decadent governing class afraid of its own people'.
Here in the maelstrom of Donald Trump's second term, the state department sets out the US government's diplomatic position on Substack . That is, at this stage, perhaps the most normal thing that it does. While the delivery mechanism may be unconventional, it is nothing when compared to the content of the message.
This is an astonishing series of accusations to make against any ally, but especially against fellow western democracies which have served as US allies throughout the Cold War – especially at a time when Trump is visibly courting dictators in the middle east and when his administration spent much of its first months cosying up to Vladimir Putin.
Much of what the state department is complaining about is, frankly, none of the US government's business: it raises Germany's designation of the AfD as an extremist party, or the conviction in France of Marine Le Pen for charges connected with embezzlement. These are, very obviously, the internal affairs of the country concerned – and when European countries have dared to comment on such matters in the US, Trump's team have responded with spluttering indignation.
It is worth stopping for a moment to acknowledge that we should not dismiss concerns over free expression or elections just because of who is raising them. It is a matter of legitimate public debate whether it is right, either morally or tactically, for Germany to proscribe the AfD. Similarly, there are serious questions to ask about the rate at which the UK is arresting people in connection with their social media posts – 1,000 people per month seems extremely high, especially with routine crimes like shoplifting or street assaults going unpunished.
But the state department raising an issue is very different from a Fox News talking head doing the same, or even from a US politician raising it. For one thing, diplomacy is a serious business, and it is steeped in endless norms about what is and isn't the business of other nations. Trump's state department is explicitly threatening the future of the transatlantic alliance based on matters that are traditionally nothing to do with it.
Moreover, state claims its concerns 'are not partisan but principled', continuing piously: 'The suppression of speech, facilitation of mass migration, targeting of religious expression, and undermining of electoral choice threatens the very foundation of the transatlantic partnership.'
At present, Trump is personally suing multiple television channels that have criticised him. He is, as president, threatening those same channels with losing their broadcast licences. He is investigating the social media activity of anyone applying for a student visa to enter the USA. He is attempting to deport students for writing pro-Gaza op-eds – without threatening violence – in student publications.
He is interfering with law firms that represent people or causes with which he does not agree. The list goes on, and on, and on – the state department's claims to have a 'principled' concern about free expression in Europe simply do not pass the laugh test. If they are so bothered about free speech, why are they serving in an administration that has all but openly declared war on the first amendment?
The implications of the state department missive go much deeper, though. Already the administration is threatening to revoke the credentials of European officials who speak out on the enforcement of European social media rules. At first, this might appear at least slightly more legitimate than some of the state department's other claims – the big tech companies are, after all, mostly American.
This falls apart under further scrutiny, though. McDonald's is an all-American company, but when it operates in the UK it has to meet UK food safety rules, comply with UK employment law, and pay the minimum wage – and no-one bats an eyelid at this. Similarly, when US tech companies provide services to Europeans who are located in Europe, it is not unreasonable for their governments to expect to oversee the terms of that interaction.
The state department is now claiming otherwise: if you're on the internet and using a service provided by a US tech company, they say, then Donald Trump sets the rules. The US is quietly declaring sovereignty over cyberspace and expecting the world to acquiesce, making an unprecedented digital landgrab in the name of freedom.
This is not something the rest of the world is likely to tolerate, and nor should it. Trump generates endless sound and fury, and this row is likely to get lost among others that seem far more urgent. But in the online era, and as governments turn to AI as the future of the economy, this might be the most significant of all.
Trump's attempts to claim Greenland or Canada might get the headlines – but his attempt to claim the internet is far more real, and far more dangerous.