Former State Department official Mike Benz urges President Trump to aggressively challenge the EU’s disinformation law.
Mike Benz, a former State Department official, is calling on former President Donald Trump to aggressively challenge a new EU disinformation law. This law mandates that online platforms and search engines restrict content that the EU deems “fake news.”
The voluntary Code of Conduct on Disinformation was integrated into the Digital Services Act (DSA) earlier this year and became mandatory on July 1. Major online platforms and search engines, largely US-owned, must now comply with EU content regulations or face penalties.
Benz, who focused on cybersecurity and internet policy at the State Department during Trump’s first term, warned on X (formerly Twitter) that companies like YouTube, X, Facebook, and Google are now vulnerable to substantial EU fines.
Benz, head of the Foundation For Freedom Online, which describes itself as pro-free speech, characterized the Code of Conduct on Disinformation as a “Global Censorship Law” that has been Brussels’ “secret weapon” and is now “fully unleashed.”
He insisted that Trump must urgently use all available diplomatic, trade, aid, and security tools, including those related to NATO, to dismantle the law.
The implementation of the disinformation code coincides with trade discussions between Washington and Brussels, where Trump previously threatened to impose 50% tariffs on all EU imports if a deal wasn’t reached by July 9.
European Commission tech chief Henna Virkkunen stated on Monday that content moderation and digital competition are not part of the trade negotiations from the EU’s perspective, as they are rooted in “European values.”
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