Vlaams Belang demands EU-inquiry committee to investigate censorship on social media
Brussels 24/01/2025 - Together with 60 members of parliament from five different groups, the Vlaams Belang-delegation of the Patriots for Europe Group tabled a resolution calling for the creation of a special inquiry committee to investigate censorship on social media platforms. The initiative, led by MEP Tom Vandendriessche, aims to expose the impact of censorship practices on democracy and to examine the responsibility of both governments and technology companies in this censorship.
According to Vandendriessche, recent revelations about platforms such as Twitter and Facebook show the extent to which censorship undermines our democratic values. He stressed that freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be protected at all cost. “The revelations of censorship practices, such as the removal of accounts, so-called ‘shadow banning’ and government pressure on social media platforms, are unacceptable. This strikes at the heart of our democratic society. Freedom of expression is non-negotiable”, Vandendriessche said.
The endeavour to strengthen freedom of speech and combat censorship should be done across three broad lines: curbing government power, breaking the power of big tech and safeguarding free speech, both online and offline.
The resolution calls for a thorough examination of all forms of online censorship, including direct mechanisms such as the removal of accounts and indirect mechanisms such as ‘shadow banning’. It also proposes a review of the Digital Services Act to ensure that this legislation is not abused to undermine fundamental rights. In addition, the resolution calls for an analysis of the role of both governments and NGOs in the suppression of political voices on social media.
A regulation of Big Tech must also safeguard the freedom of speech and free access to information and opinions in the online sphere. To this end, interoperability between different social media platforms must be strengthened to ensure that users are no longer locked within the constraints of their platform of choice. Citizens must regain control over their online sphere by making the algorithms applied by big tech transparent and optional for the user. Where big tech does resort to unauthorised censorship, these companies must also be able to be held accountable.
Vandendriessche also calls for the creation of a European version of the US First Amendment as an expression of our shared European democratic foundation. “Our European culture is based on the free exchange of ideas and opinions, but precisely this freedom is increasingly restricted by censorship. What is legal offline should also be so online”, Vandendriessche said. “Our task is to expose these practices and ensure that citizens can express themselves freely on social media without the fear of censorship. With this resolution, we show that we are ready to act against subversive practices and protect democracy.”