Latest news with #techregulation
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Exclusive-Rubio orders US diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe's tech law
By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration has instructed U.S. diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build opposition to the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which Washington says stifles free speech and imposes costs on U.S. tech companies, an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters showed. In a State Department cable dated August 4, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency said the EU was pursuing "undue" restrictions on freedom of expression in its efforts to combat hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation, and the DSA was further enhancing these curbs. The EU's DSA is a landmark law meant to make the online environment safer and fairer by compelling tech giants to do more to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Yet Trump has made combating censorship - particularly what he sees as the stifling of conservative voices online - a major theme of his administration. Top U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have focused on European officials and regulations, accusing them of "censoring" Americans, an accusation that the European Union rejects. The cable, whose headline described it as an "action request", tasked American diplomats across U.S. embassies in Europe with regularly engaging with EU governments and digital services authorities to convey U.S. concerns about the DSA and the financial costs for U.S. companies. "Posts should focus efforts to build host government and other stakeholder support to repeal and/or amend the DSA or related EU or national laws restricting expression online," the cable said in its "objective" section. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION It provided specific suggestions to U.S. diplomats on how the EU law may be changed, and talking points to help them make that argument. State Department did not comment for this story. A spokesperson for the EU Commission declined to comment on the cable but said freedom of expression is a fundamental right across the bloc. "We firmly rebut any censorship claims. The censorship allegations relative to the DSA are completely unfounded," the spokesperson said. In March, the EU's antitrust and tech chiefs told U.S. lawmakers that the new tech rule aimed to keep digital markets open and is not targeted at U.S. companies. The Commission has also pushed back against speculation that the 27-member EU's tech regulatory regime could be included in EU-U.S. trade negotiations. "Our legislation will not be changed. The DMA (Digital Markets Act) and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.," Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference. The order to U.S. diplomats marks an acceleration of the administration's efforts to promote what it calls "America's free-speech tradition," a policy that has added friction to the already fraught U.S. relationship with European allies. That policy came into focus in February, when Vance stunned European leaders by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring the speech of groups such as Germany's right-wing AfD party and backsliding on democracy. FALSE CLAIMS During his trip, Vance went on to meet with the leaders of the AfD — classified by Germany's domestic intelligence service as a suspected extremist group — which became the country's largest opposition party after the February election. Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that have centered on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the Biden administration's contacts with social media companies did not violate America's First Amendment protections around free speech. The directive by the State Department ordered U.S. diplomats to investigate any claims of censorship, which it described as "any government efforts to suppress protected forms of expression or coerce private companies to do the same", adding that the priority should be given to any incidents that impact U.S. citizens and companies. Their investigation should include any related arrests, court cases, property seizures and online suspensions, it said. "Posts should meet with government officials, businesses, civil society, and impacted individuals to report on censorship cases, including but not limited to those related to the DSA," the cable said. In March, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) specifically criticized the DSA, saying it was not compatible with America's free speech tradition. In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies. "OVERLY BROAD CONTROLS" U.S. tech companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have weighed in too, saying the DSA amounts to censorship of their platforms. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the U.S. president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Rubio's directive takes particular aim at the DSA's description of illegal content, saying it was expansive, and told U.S. diplomats to advocate to get the definition of "illegal content" narrowed so that it would not curb freedom of expression, including in political and religious discourse. Another suggestion was to withdraw or amend the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, a framework under the DSA, which the State Department said was setting "overly broad controls" on content in a way that was undermining freedom of expression. Other talking points included removing or reducing fines for non-compliance to content restrictions, and not relying on "trusted flaggers", entities designated by national authorities to report illegal online content to platforms.
Russia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
US working to kill EU Digital Services Act
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly ordered US diplomats to launch a lobbying campaign against the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), according to an internal cable obtained by Reuters. The directive accuses the EU law of stifling free speech and imposing unfair costs on US tech companies. The DSA, which came into force in August 2023, is designed to make online platforms safer by requiring them to remove illegal content such as hate speech, misinformation, and child sexual abuse material. It applies to 19 large platforms, including Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet's Google, Amazon, and Apple's App Store. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to 6% of global revenue. Washington has argued that the DSA targets US companies and restricts freedom of expression. Rubio's cable calls the legislation a threat to 'America's free-speech tradition' and a financial burden on US platforms. Diplomats have reportedly been instructed to meet with EU officials to push for the law to be repealed or amended. They have also been told to challenge definitions of 'illegal content' and weaken enforcement tools like 'trusted flaggers' and the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which has been described by critics as a 'global censorship law.' In July, the US State Department posted on X that the 'Orwellian' DSA is used to convict thousands for criticizing governments and shields EU leaders from accountability. In February, US Vice President J.D. Vance said the law prevents adults from accessing alternative opinions labeled as misinformation, warning that US companies could block EU users to avoid compliance. Last year, Russia also accused the EU of censorship after Brussels banned several Russian outlets. The Foreign Ministry called it 'political censorship' by the neoliberal West aimed at suppressing dissent. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said Brussels lacks arguments to convince its citizens and instead blocks alternative views. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said in 2024 that 'Russian Telegram users enjoy more freedom than Europeans.' Durov is currently on trial in France over allegations of spreading illegal content through his platform.
Al Arabiya
3 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Rubio orders US diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe's tech law
President Donald Trump's administration has instructed US diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build an opposition to the European Union's Digital Services Act, which Washington says stifles free speech and imposes costs on US tech companies, an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters showed. In a State Department cable dated August 4 that was signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency said the EU was pursuing 'undue' restrictions on freedom of expression by its efforts to combat hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation and the DSA was further enhancing these curbs. The EU's DSA is a landmark law that is meant to make the online environment safer and fairer by compelling tech giants to do more to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Trump has made combating censorship - particularly what he sees as the stifling of conservative voices online - a major theme of his administration. Top US officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have focused on European officials and regulations, accusing them of 'censoring' Americans, an accusation that the European Union rejects. The cable, whose headline described it as an 'action request', tasked American diplomats across US embassies in Europe with regularly engaging with EU governments and digital services authorities to convey US concerns about the DSA and the financial costs for US tech companies. 'Posts should focus efforts to build host government and other stakeholder support to repeal and/or amend the DSA or related EU or national laws restricting expression online,' the cable said in its 'objective' section, referring to US diplomatic missions. It provided specific suggestions to US diplomats on how the EU law may be changed and the talking points to help them make that argument. State Department did not comment for this story. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, EU's antitrust and tech chiefs told US lawmakers that the new tech rule aimed to keep digital markets open and is not targeted at US tech giants. The Commission has also pushed back against speculation that the 27-member EU's landmark tech regulatory regime could be included in the EU-US negotiations. 'Our legislation will not be changed. The DMA and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the US,' Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference. A campaign for 'free speech' The order to US diplomats marks an acceleration of the administration's efforts to promote what it calls 'America's free-speech tradition,' a policy that has added friction to the already fraught US relationship with European allies. That policy came into focus in February, when Vance stunned European leaders by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring the speech of groups such as Germany's right-wing AfD party and backsliding on democracy. During his trip, Vance went on to meet with the leaders of AfD — classified by Germany's domestic intelligence service as a suspected extremist group — which became the country's largest opposition party after the February election. Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that have centered on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections. The US Supreme Court ruled last year that the Biden administration's contacts with social media companies did not violate America's First Amendment protections around free speech. The directive by the State Department ordered US diplomats to investigate any claims of censorship which it described as 'any government efforts to suppress protected forms of expression or coerce private companies to do the same', adding that the priority should be given to any incidents that impact US citizens and companies. Examples could include arrests, court cases, property seizures and online suspensions, it said. 'Posts should meet with government officials, businesses, civil society, and impacted individuals to report on censorship cases, including but not limited to those related to the DSA,' the cable said. In March, the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) specifically criticized DSA saying it was not compatible with America's free speech tradition. In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who 'censor' speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating US tech companies. 'Overly broad controls' US tech companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta have weighed in too, saying the DSA amounts to censorship of their platforms. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the US president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Rubio's directive takes particular aim at DSA's description of illegal content, saying it was expansive and told US diplomats to advocate to get the definition of 'illegal content' narrowed so that it would not curb freedom of expression, including in political and religious discourse. Another suggestion was to withdraw or amend the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, a framework under DSA, which the State Department said was setting 'overly broad controls' on content in a way that was undermining freedom of expression. Other talking points included removing or reducing fines for non-compliance to content restrictions and not relying on 'trusted flaggers,' entities designated by national authorities to report illegal online content to platforms.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Exclusive: Rubio orders US diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe's tech law
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's administration has instructed U.S. diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build an opposition to the European Union's Digital Services Act, which Washington says stifles free speech and imposes costs on U.S. tech companies, an internal diplomatic cable seen by Reuters showed. In a State Department cable dated August 4 that was signed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency said the EU was pursuing "undue" restrictions on freedom of expression by its efforts to combat hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation and the DSA was further enhancing these curbs. The EU's DSA is a landmark law that is meant to make the online environment safer and fairer by compelling tech giants to do more to tackle illegal content, including hate speech and child sexual abuse material. Trump has made combating censorship - particularly what he sees as the stifling of conservative voices online - a major theme of his administration. Top U.S. officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have focused on European officials and regulations, accusing them of "censoring" Americans, an accusation that the European Union rejects. The cable, whose headline described it as an "action request", tasked American diplomats across U.S. embassies in Europe with regularly engaging with EU governments and digital services authorities to convey U.S. concerns about the DSA and the financial costs for U.S. tech companies. "Posts should focus efforts to build host government and other stakeholder support to repeal and/or amend the DSA or related EU or national laws restricting expression online," the cable said in its "objective" section, referring to U.S. diplomatic missions. It provided specific suggestions to U.S. diplomats on how the EU law may be changed and the talking points to help them make that argument. State Department did not comment for this story. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In March, EU's antitrust and tech chiefs told U.S. lawmakers that the new tech rule aimed to keep digital markets open and is not targeted at U.S. tech giants. The Commission has also pushed back against speculation that the 27-member EU's landmark tech regulatory regime could be included in the EU-U.S. negotiations. "Our legislation will not be changed. The DMA and the DSA are not on the table in the trade negotiations with the U.S.," Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told a daily news conference. The order to U.S. diplomats marks an acceleration of the administration's efforts to promote what it calls "America's free-speech tradition," a policy that has added friction to the already fraught U.S. relationship with European allies. That policy came into focus in February, when Vance stunned European leaders by accusing them - at a conference usually known for displays of transatlantic unity - of censoring the speech of groups such as Germany's right-wing AfD party and backsliding on democracy. During his trip, Vance went on to meet with the leaders of AfD — classified by Germany's domestic intelligence service as a suspected extremist group — which became the country's largest opposition party after the February election. Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly accused the administration of Democratic former President Joe Biden of encouraging suppression of free speech on online platforms, claims that have centered on efforts to stem false claims about vaccines and elections. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that the Biden administration's contacts with social media companies did not violate America's First Amendment protections around free speech. The directive by the State Department ordered U.S. diplomats to investigate any claims of censorship which it described as "any government efforts to suppress protected forms of expression or coerce private companies to do the same", adding that the priority should be given to any incidents that impact U.S. citizens and companies. Examples could include arrests, court cases, property seizures and online suspensions, it said. "Posts should meet with government officials, businesses, civil society, and impacted individuals to report on censorship cases, including but not limited to those related to the DSA," the cable said. In March, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) specifically criticized DSA saying it was not compatible with America's free speech tradition. In May, Rubio threatened visa bans for people who "censor" speech by Americans, including on social media, and suggested the policy could target foreign officials regulating U.S. tech companies. U.S. tech companies like Facebook and Instagram parent Meta (META.O), opens new tab have weighed in too, saying the DSA amounts to censorship of their platforms. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, who also owns social media company X, was a leading adviser to the U.S. president before the two fell out, while the bosses of Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab, Meta and Google-owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) took prominent spots at Trump's inauguration in January. Rubio's directive takes particular aim at DSA's description of illegal content, saying it was expansive and told U.S. diplomats to advocate to get the definition of "illegal content" narrowed so that it would not curb freedom of expression, including in political and religious discourse. Another suggestion was to withdraw or amend the Code of Conduct on Disinformation, a framework under DSA, which the State Department said was setting "overly broad controls" on content in a way that was undermining freedom of expression. Other talking points included removing or reducing fines for non-compliance to content restrictions and not relying on "trusted flaggers", entities designated by national authorities to report illegal online content to platforms.
Al Arabiya
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Australia watchdog says tech giants ‘turning blind eye' to child abuse material
Australia's online watchdog accused tech giants including Apple and Google on Wednesday of 'turning a blind eye' to child sex abuse material shared on their platforms. The eSafety Commission found that Apple and video streaming site YouTube -- owned by Google -- did not track the number of user reports they received about child sexual abuse, nor did they outline how long it took to respond to these reports. 'When left to their own devices, these companies aren't prioritizing the protection of children and are seemingly turning a blind eye to crimes occurring on their services,' eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said. She added that tech companies had not 'taken many steps to lift and improve their efforts' since she asked them three years ago. 'No other consumer-facing industry would be given the license to operate by enabling such heinous crimes against children on their premises, or services.' The report also found companies including Apple, Google, Microsoft and Skype did not use tools to proactively detect child sex abuse material. Tech companies are required to report to the commission every six months on how they are tackling child sexual abuse material, including AI-generated images. Inman Grant said she hoped she would see 'meaningful progress.' A Google spokesperson said the commission's findings were 'rooted in reporting metrics, not online safety performance.' 'Child safety is critical to us. We've led the industry fight against child sexual abuse material since day one, investing heavily in advanced technology to proactively find and remove this harmful content,' the spokesperson said. More than 90 percent of all child sexual abuse content on YouTube was removed by YouTube's 'robust automated systems' before it was flagged or viewed by users, the spokesperson added. Australia last year unveiled landmark laws that will ban under-16s from social media by the end of 2025. The government had previously indicated YouTube would be exempt, given its widespread use in classrooms. But last week it announced the video-streaming site, one of the most visited websites in the world, would also be included in the ban. Firms face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million) for failing to comply. Officials are yet to solve basic questions surrounding the laws, such as how the ban will be policed.
