The free world divided

Vice President J.D. Vance’s recent European tour made one global reality unequivocally clear: The United States and Europe have officially parted ways on free speech.

Speaking in Munich, the vice president warned against “the impulse to control speech and regulate thought,” calling it “an Orwellian tendency that threatens the very democracy Europe claims to uphold.”

There is no doubt that America is recommitting to its free speech heritage under this administration—and doing so with gusto on the world stage. Will our friends across the Atlantic be moved? Or will they double down on their current path of state-backed censorship?

As the latest proof that George Orwell’s projections have come to pass in Europe, Vance shared the story of British father and Army veteran Adam Smith-Connor. Adam was criminally convicted in October 2024 for silently praying for three minutes near an abortion facility. This summer, he will be appealing his conviction. His case is no isolated incident. It is a harbinger of where unchecked censorship leads. Britain, our closest ally, now censors people’s thoughts.

The vice president’s comments revealed a widening rift within the West over the extent of free speech. The European vision—one that is highly selective and subject to bureaucratic whims—was reflected in the recent words of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “We have freedom of speech in Europe and Germany,” he said, “but we don’t accept it if it’s supporting extreme-right positions.”

Note that he reserves for himself the right to define what counts as “extreme right.” Later, he doubled down and defended censorship as a way for democracies to “defend themselves against their enemies.” In other words, eliminate freedom in order to protect freedom.

The more principled view, represented by the U.S. administration, was reflected in President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive order on censorship. It declared: “Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”

This great free speech divide is perhaps most clearly seen in the European Union’s Digital Services Act, a sweeping new law that polices online speech. Indeed, the very day after Trump signed his executive order, the European Parliament met to discuss how to enforce this act.

The DSA, in essence, is a digital gag order. It grants the European Commission sweeping authority to enforce “content moderation” on major online platforms operating in the EU, imposing massive fines of up to 6% of a company’s global revenue for violations. Among the platforms subject to the law are U.S.-based Facebook, Instagram, and X.

This is a chilling development for the free world. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union erected an Iron Curtain to seal off its people from outside ideas and influences. Today, Europe is doing something softer but alarmingly similar. With the DSA, it is paving the way for a new Digital Iron Curtain, allowing EU bureaucrats to block online content from their citizens by simply labeling it “misinformation.”

Yet unlike Soviet censorship, the DSA’s impact will stretch far beyond Europe. In trying to stop certain ideas from reaching their shores, the EU could even impair the ability of Americans to speak freely on U.S.-based platforms. As the House Judiciary Committee recently warned, the DSA could “set de facto global censorship standards” as U.S. platforms adapt their content moderation policies to meet EU standards.

This concern is not theoretical. Consider what nearly happened to President Trump this past summer. In the days leading up to a scheduled interview with Elon Musk on X, the European Commission warned Musk that his interview could violate DSA content policy against “misinformation.” To his credit, Musk refused to cave to the pressure. But the situation offered a grim picture of the EU’s willingness to target voices across the Atlantic to plug the ears of its own citizens.

If allowed to stand, threats like these will almost certainly impact the speech of Christians. Once authorities claim the right to censor ideas they dislike, it is all but inevitable that Christian expression, rooted in truth claims that many in our culture find offensive, would become a target.

For these reasons, the Trump administration should train its free speech diplomacy like a laser on the DSA. This law must be repealed for the sake of fundamental freedoms in Europe, America, and beyond. As Vice President Vance said in a separate speech in Paris: “We can trust our people to think, to consume information, to develop their own ideas, and to debate with one another in the open marketplace of ideas.”

The West faces geopolitical threats in China, Russia, and Iran. Yet the greatest threat, as Abraham Lincoln once warned us, always lies within. “As a nation of free men,” he said, “we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”

Free speech may not serve the interests of bureaucrats who resist accountability, but it is indispensable to a healthy democracy. All those who cherish self-government should hope this administration’s vision for free speech triumphs all throughout the world.