- The House Judiciary Committee convened to discuss 'Europe's threat to American speech and innovation' after EU Commissioner Thierry Breton claimed Elon Musk's livestream with Donald Trump violated the Digital Services Act.
- Nigel Farage warned Americans about the U.K.'s Online Safety Act, citing cases of individuals being imprisoned or arrested for tweets and expressing concern that such regulations could affect U.S. trade.
- European speech regulations like the Digital Services Act extend global reach through the 'Brussels Effect,' forcing U.S. companies to become 'the EU's global censorship police.'
After Elon Musk’s livestream on X with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump last summer, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton claimed the interview broke the European Union’s Digital Services Act, in a public letter to Musk. In reaction, the House Judiciary Committee convened in Washington on Wednesday to discuss “Europe’s threat to American speech and innovation.”
In attendance as witnesses were the leader of Reform U.K. Nigel Farage, the Irish barrister Lorcán Price and several others.
The committee asked Breton to attend Wednesday’s hearing, but he refused to come or provide written testimony.
Farage warns about the Online Safety Act
Though Farage believes every parent in both the U.K. and the U.S. is rightfully concerned with what their children are exposed to online, he believes his country’s Online Safety Act is the wrong approach.
The Online Safety Act allows for the prosecution of speech, Farage said. He referenced Lucy Connolly, who was sentenced to 31 months in prison for a tweet she deleted after several hours, and comedian Graham Linehan, who was arrested Tuesday for three tweets.
“He’s not even a British citizen,” Farage said of Linehan. “He’s an Irish citizen. This can happen to any American man or woman who goes to Heathrow that is saying things online that the British government and British police don’t like.”
The Online Safety Act, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and others restricting free speech could also have a negative impact on U.S. trade, Farage said.
“I’ve come today to be a klaxon to say to you, don’t allow this to happen to you here in America. And you will be doing us and yourselves and all freedom-loving people a favor if you said to the British government, ‘You simply got this wrong.’”
A klaxon is an electric horn or a similar loud warning device.
Joining the European Union catalyzed the U.K.’s free speech issues, Farage says
When the United Kingdom joined the European Union in 1973, it “gradually transformed into a European way of thinking,” Farage said.
British Parliament slowly began implementing European legislation, such as the Human Rights Act, which, “as opposed to being born free, under the human rights regime, the state gives you your rights, which you’re supposed to be incredibly grateful. But they can take them away whenever they like,” he said.
“We lost our bearings,” Farage continued. “The U.K. lost its way, it became obsessed about doing things the European way — countries frankly that don’t have that history of liberty, freedom and democracy that we do.”
In his own testimony, Price spoke about the so-called “Brussels Effect,” the global reach of European law, and in particular, the Digital Services Act.
The DSA includes flaggers, a code of conduct on hate speech and misinformation and content moderation for “systemic risks.”
“It constitutes nothing more than an attempt to bring Brussels’ regulation of speech onto a global stage,” Price said. When countries want to trade with countries in the EU, the coalition demands the interested country comply with the DSA.
Price added, “U.S. companies bear the brunt of (speech regulation). They’re hijacked by the DSA to become essentially the EU’s global censorship police, whether they like it or not. The DSA contains expansive powers of investigation, huge compliance costs and crippling fines” if companies are non-compliant.
‘Ultimately, the people have to get what they voted for,’ says Farage
Since the start of 2025 in the United Kingdom, Reform has risen dramatically polls. For the first time ever, Reform is more popular than the left’s Labour party and the right’s Conservative party.
Reform was founded at the end of 2018 by members of Parliament who wanted the country to leave the European Union.
“What is happening in the United Kingdom right now, is we want a government that comes in and gets rid of all these laws and starts again and starts on the basis of yes we want to try and protect kids, and we will do whatever we can that is practical to protect kids from serious harm online, but we will get back to the idea that I can insult you, you can insult me,” Farage said.