TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 1454.consprcy@1:2320/105 2d15a112   
   PID: Synchronet 3.21a-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   TID: SBBSecho 3.28-Linux master/123f2d28a Jul 12 2025 GCC 12.2.0   
   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
   CHRS: ASCII 1   
   FORMAT: flowed   
   EU rejects claims of censorship targeting US tech giants  but Trump threatens   
   sanctions   
      
   Date:   
   Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:23:16 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   The Digital Services Act seeks to create a safer online environment, said the   
   EU. Yet, according to US officials, it limits free speech and unfairly    
   targets American tech firms.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   No, the EU's Digital Service Act (DSA) doesn't constitute internet censorship   
   and isn't designed to harm US big tech giants specifically.    
      
   This is the blunt reply from the European Commission on Tuesday, August 26,   
   2025, in response to accusations made by US President Donald Trump the day   
   before  Reuters reported .    
      
   On Monday, in fact, another report from Reuters revealed that the Trump   
   administration was considering imposing sanctions against the European Union   
   and any member states looking to implement DSA rules.    
      
   The EU's Digital Service Act seeks to create a safer online environment, said   
   the EU, by limiting the spread of illegal content, including hate speech and   
   child sexual abuse material, and disinformation on digital platforms. It also   
   bans manipulative advertising practices.    
      
   Washington sees these actions as restrictions on Americans' freedom of    
   speech, with a government spokesperson confirming to Reuters that authorities   
   are monitoring the situation in Europe "with great concern."    
      
   DSA enforcement decisions have so far affected X and Meta, but also   
   Chinese-owned companies like AliExpress, Temu, and TikTok, said an EU   
   spokesperson.   
      
   Beyond the EU   
      
   US officials' concerns around new digital regulations aren't limited to the   
   EU, though, nor to the Digital Service Act.    
      
   In a Truth Social post , Trump shared his intentions to "impose substantial   
   additional tariffs" on all countries that target American tech companies with   
   digital taxes or regulations, "unless these discriminatory actions are   
   removed."    
      
   This comes only days after a pledge from the Chair of the Federal Trade   
   Commission (FTC) to at least 13 US tech giants, including Apple, Alphabet   
   (parent firm behind Google), Meta, Microsoft, and Amazon, to resist UK and EU   
   demands to weaken encryption and censor content.    
      
   Besides the EU DSA, the FTC raised the alarm about two UK laws in particular   
   the Online Safety Act and Investigatory Powers Act .    
      
   US officials have been critical about the latter, following a Technical   
   Capability Notice (TCN) issued under the law that hit Apple in February and   
   led the tech giant to remove its advanced end-to-end encryption protection   
   from iCloud in the UK market. The UK, however, has now agreed to drop its   
   Apple encryption backdoor request , in a victory for Washington.    
      
   At the end of July, mandatory age verification in the UK was also enforced as   
   per the Online Safety Act, age-gating not just adult-only content, but also   
   so-called legal but harmful material across multiple platforms like social   
   media, dating apps, and even music streaming services, like Spotify.    
      
   Millions of Brits have so far turned to the best VPN apps to bypass age   
   checks, mostly for fear of the privacy and security consequences of sharing   
   their most sensitive data with third parties.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/eu-rejects-claims-of-censor   
   ship-targeting-us-tech-giants-but-trump-threatens-sanctions   
      
   $$   
   --- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux   
    * Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)   
   SEEN-BY: 105/81 106/201 128/187 129/14 305 153/7715 154/110 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 226/30 227/114 229/110 111 206 300 307 317 400 426 428 470   
   SEEN-BY: 229/664 700 705 266/512 291/111 320/219 322/757 342/200 396/45   
   SEEN-BY: 460/58 712/848 902/26 2320/0 105 304 3634/12 5075/35   
   PATH: 2320/105 229/426