May 29, 2025
Members of the European Parliament, legal experts, and advocates gathered in Brussels on May 21 to examine growing concerns about the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which critics have dubbed the “Digital Surveillance Act.” The event, co-hosted by ADF International alongside MEPs Stephen Bartulica and Virginie Joron, came in the wake of concerns raised by the U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor regarding the law’s impact on freedom of expression. Enacted in February 2024, the DSA mandates that major tech platforms and search engines monitor and remove so-called “illegal content,” including broadly defined “disinformation.” However, experts at the conference warned that such vague language opens the door for potential censorship of viewpoints—particularly those grounded in Christianity.
French MEP Virginie Joron cautioned that the DSA is being weaponized as a tool for political control, especially targeting platforms like X, Facebook, and Telegram. She warned that the legislation risks becoming a “Trojan horse for surveillance and control.” Paul Coleman, executive director of ADF International, highlighted the case of Finnish Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen—prosecuted for expressing biblical views on sexuality—as a troubling indicator of where such legislation could lead. He argued that under the DSA, restrictive national laws could become EU-wide norms, posing a serious threat to free speech across the continent. Citing key international legal protections such as Article 11 of the EU Charter and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Coleman urged member states to challenge the DSA in court and called for broader public engagement ahead of the law’s formal review in November 2025.
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SOURCE: Harbinger's Daily