The Trump administration in Washington wants the Government to urge the European Union to allow member states to address hate speech as each “sees fit”.
It is also seeking for the Government to press Brussels to review the implementation of existing regulations to provide better protections for freedom of expression, “including political speech”.
In a note to Ireland’s media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, sent last August, the US state department said that while freedom of expression is not absolute, any restrictions “must be narrowly tailored”. It said Government bans on hate speech or disinformation are generally not permissible.
It urged that any local implementation of EU regulations on the operations of US social media companies “be done with full respect for dissenting views, including views deemed offensive or critical of politicians, officials or Government institutions”.
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The Trump administration said the EU should accept Ireland’s existing legislation “and refrain from launching further investigations that are inconsistent with Ireland’s sovereignty and undermine freedom of expression of individuals in member states”.
“We encourage your Government to urge the EU to allow for each member State to address hate speech as it sees fit, consistent with international obligations to protect freedom of expression,” it said.
Washington considers bans on hate speech to be in breach of an international convention on civil and political rights to which all EU countries are party.
Almost since it came into office in January, the Trump administration has criticised restrictions in place on US technology companies operating in Europe, particularly under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
It has argued that such rules “try to set content moderation standards for US companies that threaten freedom of expression in Europe, the United States and around the world”.
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However, in a note drawn up by the state department in Washington and sent to Irish media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, the US government maintains that EU regulations are costing technology companies billions of dollars.
“The annual cost of complying with DSA to US technology companies in 2024 was estimated to total €14.8 billion in lost online advertising revenue and €18.1 billion in lost platform, subscriptions and other revenue in the EU,” it said.
The state department in Washington also maintained that for very large platforms with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU, the annual cost of complying with the DSA was, on average, $88.5 million per year in addition to an estimated $53.5 million per year in legal and contractor fees.
“The DSA, as currently implemented, imposes burdens primarily on US social media companies that have both a financial and regulatory cost and also forces them to unduly restrict the speech of their users,” the note said.
The state department urged the Government “to call for a robust review of the implementation of the DSA” and to revise the implementation guidelines to ensure better protections for freedom of expression, including political speech.
Freedom of expression is a “bedrock principle in any democracy”, but freedom of expression is not an “absolute right” and it can be subject to “narrowly tailored” limitations, it said.
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The US views government restrictions on speech that amounts to incitement to imminent violence or true threats as permissible, but bans on hate speech or disinformation generally are not, it said.
It said the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the US and EU members are party, obligates states to protect freedom of expression. The US interprets the ICCPR as “prohibiting most forms of content-based regulation of speech including restrictions on hate speech”, it said.
“Thus, the United States views the EU approach to hate speech as inconsistent with EU member states’ international obligations.”
The state department note was sent to Coimisiún na Meán by the US embassy in Dublin.
