America’s problem with Europe’s online speech rules

As the transatlantic standoff over content moderation rages on, tech industry groups and advocates are arguing that something doesn’t quite add up about the U.S.’s position regarding online speech. In early February, the House Judiciary Committee held its second hearing on “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation.” Republicans on the committee, such as Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH), were particularly animated about the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act requiring age verification for content considered harmful to kids, and the European Union’s Digital Services Act—which partly regulates online hate speech and misinformation, and also has age-gating rules. When the industry group NetChoice sued to challenge South Carolina’s new Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, it raised the specter of European censorship. The state law establishes privacy protections that are intended to protect kids from potential psychological harms arising from social media. The suit itself has nothing to do with foreign internet laws, but in announcing the move, NetChoice referenced the Judiciary hearing and asserted: “We’ve actually seen how rules like this turn out for free speech online in Europe and the UK. We must not import digital censorship to America.”