ROBERT WILLIAMS/GATESTONE INSTITUTE
Governing elites in Europe, in what increasingly appears to be the EUSSR (European Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) race to the bottom, have been growing ever more unpopular. Disapproval ratings are skyrocketing. In France, 77% of the public disapprove of President Emmanuel Macron. In Britain, 68% disapprove of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In Germany, 64% disapprove of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and in Spain, 61% have had it up to here with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
In other parts of Europe, such as Germany and France, all sorts of pseudo-legal acrobatics are being generated to prevent political opponents from running for high office.
So, if you are an unpopular regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do? It's easy! Iran's ayatollahs, China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and Vladimir Putin could tell you. You simply crack down -- more than ever -- on free speech and dissent!
In supposed democracies, this latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent "democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to crush freedom of speech.
Concerning age limits for children, there is a valid argument to be made that leaving the faces of a generation staring at screens all day appears to be impairing not only their education but also their ability to socialize with anyone not an AI chimera, algorithmed to agree narcotically with everything uploaded, including the best ways to how to put their young, ostensibly deficient lives to an end.
As the founder and CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov wrote on X:
Today, Telegram notified all its users in Spain with this alert:
Pedro Sánchez's government is pushing dangerous new regulations that threaten your internet freedoms. Announced just yesterday, these measures could turn Spain into a surveillance state under the guise of "protection." Here's why they're a red flag for free speech and privacy:
1. Ban on social media for under-16s with mandatory age verification: This isn't just about kids--it requires platforms to use strict checks, like needing IDs or biometrics....
Danger: This will force over-censorship--platforms will delete anything remotely controversial to avoid risks, silencing political dissent, journalism, and everyday opinions. Your voice could be next if it challenges the status quo....
Danger: Governments will dictate what you see, burying opposing views and creating echo chambers controlled by the state. Free exploration of ideas? Gone--replaced by curated propaganda....
Danger: Vague definitions of "hate" could label criticism of the government as divisive, leading to shutdowns or fines. This can be a tool for suppressing opposition. These aren't safeguards; they're steps toward total control. We've seen this playbook before--governments weaponizing "safety" to censor critics....
Demand transparency and fight for your rights. Share this widely--before it's too late.
Durov, incidentally, born in the Soviet Union in 1984 - of all Orwellian dates! - left Russia in 2014 after Russia's FSB security service demanded that his company, VKontakte, hand over the personal data of Ukrainian Euromaidan protesters and opposition figures, and for refusing to censor posts on his site.
In Spain, in addition to an arguably justified ban on social media for people under 16 years old, Sanchez's government is introducing a legislative package consisting of five additions to censor speech online.
First, social media platform executives will not just be fined for failing to remove "illegal, hateful or harmful" content from their platforms in a timely way - they will also now face criminal liability, including possible imprisonment. As Durov warns:
"This will force over-censorship--platforms will delete anything remotely controversial to avoid risks, silencing political dissent, journalism, and everyday opinions. Your voice could be next if it challenges the status quo."
"Sanchez," Elon Musk said more bluntly, "is the true fascist totalitarian."
Second, amplifying "illegal" or "harmful" content through the algorithms will become a crime.
"We will turn algorithmic manipulation and amplification of illegal content into a new criminal offense," Sanchez said. "No more hiding behind code. No more pretending technology is neutral."
Third, according to Sanchez:
"We will implement a hate and polarization footprint system to track, quantify, and expose how digital platforms fuel division and amplify hate. For too long, hate has been treated as invisible and untraceable, but we will change that."
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