Trump's FCC chairman calls on tech leaders to push back against European censorship

FIRST ON FOX - Federal Communication Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr on Wednesday asked to meet with America's most powerful tech executives to discuss ways to support them in pushing back on European censorship. 

"Thankfully, President Trump has already taken action to restore Americans' First Amendment rights, marshaling efforts to dismantle the censorship cartel. Consistent with President Trump's longstanding commitment to free speech, some of you, like X, stood strong even as those waves of censorship crashed across the country," Carr continued. "Others, like Meta, have now joined in expressing a commitment to push back on efforts to silence Americans. And still others, like Google, have progress they can make towards embracing the values of free expression."

Carr urged the high-powered tech leaders to support his efforts to stand up for free speech. 

"Following President Trump's lead, we are working across the government to ensure that all Americans can exercise their free speech rights online and access a true diversity of viewpoints. I am concerned, however, that foreign nations and regulators are moving in the opposite direction-and their efforts could hinder the progress we're making in this country," he wrote. 

"In particular, the EU's Digital Services Act, or DSA, is positioned to thwart efforts by U.S. tech companies to preserve and respect First Amendment principles on their platforms. This is especially true for products the DSA considers very large online platforms or very large online search engines, which each of you are," Carr added. "Amidst this European overreach, President Trump has made clear that the United States will defend American companies from discriminatory laws and foreign regulatory regimes that wrongly burden our businesses."

 "In those remarks, the Trump Administration made clear that the DSA threatens freedom of speech and diversity of opinion both within the United States and worldwide," Carr wrote. 

"The DSA undermines U.S. companies' ability to adhere to First Amendment principles by requiring them to censor, monitor, and report on users' speech. This includes what EU Member States consider unlawful speech, including speech that falls within vague and subjective categories such as 'hate speech,' which has already been applied to expressions of religious belief," he added. "Platforms must also censor blasphemy, insults, or even defiling the memory of a dead person."

The DSA also requires the hiring of government-approved "trusted flagger" to forward content to platforms that must be "treated with priority," Carr noted. 

"The Orwellian measures don't end there-the EU's Code of Conduct on Disinformation becomes law under the DSA on July 1, 2025, and will impose further requirements on American Internet platforms," Carr wrote. 

"The DSA marks a fork in the road for U.S. technology companies. On the one hand, the DSA requires you to censor content in violation of free speech principles. On the other, violating the DSA would risk European regulators imposing exorbitant fines of up to six percent of your annual revenue," Carr continued. "It is not clear how U.S. businesses will navigate the path forward. The DSA may force U.S. companies to skew their content moderation policies to EU standards-a race to the bottom and away from free speech."

Carr requested that each tech leader schedule a briefing on plans in order for the FCC to support "efforts to restore and preserve free speech" on the platforms.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the companies who received the letter for comment but did not immediately receive any responses.