The European Union will not be deterred by US criticism of tech firm regulation, Ireland’s EU Commissioner Michael McGrath has said.
Mr McGrath said there was no attempt by the European Commission to single out US tech firms such as X, Facebook and Instagram and the rules will be applied equally to all such firms in the EU.
Speaking in February in Munich, vice-president JD Vance’s recent accused the EU of engaging in online censorship against opinions it did not regard as acceptable.
“I look to Brussels, where EU commissars warn citizens that they intend to shut down social media during times of civil unrest the moment they spot what they’ve judged to be, quote, ‘hateful content’,” he said.
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Mr McGrath responded by stating that EU legislation, most notably the Digital Services Act (DSA), does not deal with content moderation, but it “does set parameters and it does set a framework when it comes to civil discourse, to the conduct of elections, the platforms have to demonstrate the steps they are taking to protect the integrity of our electoral systems.
“Given the risks that are there, that is a very reasonable approach by the European Union. We have to use the tools that we have. We have heard the response from vice-president Vance and others who have been highly critical of the system of regulation within the EU, but those are the rules of operating within the European Union.
“They are important and they are balanced because they do protect our fundamental rights. One of my responsibilities as EU Commissioner is to protect the Charter for Fundamental Rights and I’m satisfied that the DSA does not encroach on freedom of expression.
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“It does not deny a person a right to a very strong opinion and articulating that opinion. It sets guard rails in which we expect tech companies to manage the online space. We think that is a fair and appropriate way to approach it.”
In November, the Romanian government annulled the first round of the presidential election following allegations of mass-manipulation by Russia in favour of the pro-Russian candidate Cálin Georgescu.
Mr McGrath, who is the EU’s commissioner responsible for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection said the EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has asked him to bring forward a “democracy shield” to deal with online manipulation.
“It will deal with issues of foreign information and manipulation in the EU. We have to protect freedom of expression and free elections. At the same time that we have to recognise that the online platforms have incredible power to amplify certain contents so the DSA gives the European Union the capacity to engage with the online providers to get information from them if required,” he said.
“We have to ensure that any action we taken is in accordance with the rule of law. The Commission has to abide by the standard it is seeking to uphold.”
When challenged by Newstalk presenter Anton Savage as to whether or not the “horse has already bolted” in relation to disinformation and misinformation, Mr McGrath stated that it was looking at setting up a fact-checking service for EU countries.
“What is accurate, what is blatant disinformation. That will be an important part of the democracy shield as well as looking at national elections which are a national competence,” he stated.
“There is a lot that we can do by working together and sharing information and sharing best practice.”
The EU had the power to levy fines of up to 6 per cent of global turnover on tech firms which flagrantly breach the rules on allowing harmful content online.
Mr McGrath said the €800 billion in defence expenditure suggested by Ms von der Leyen was regrettable given all the other priorities within the EU, but was also necessary given the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the withdrawal of US support for Ukraine.
He was struck by the fear that the Baltic States and Finland have that they will be next if Russia prevails in Ukraine.
“Ireland is some distance away. It is a function of geography, but the fear is very different as you move eastward towards Russian,” he said.
