US pressure on the Digital Services Act in the Netherlands
On 3 February 2026, the United States House Committee on the Judiciary launched a report in which EDRi member Bits of Freedom and Justice for Prosperity, among others, are called "censorous NGOs". In response, Bits of Freedom and Justice for Prosperity are issuing the following statement.
What’s going on?
In 2025, the United States House Committee on the Judiciary published a report ,titled “The Foreign Censorship Threat: How the European Union’s Digital Services Act compels Global Censorship and infringes on American Free Speech” , claiming to demonstrate that the Digital Services Act (DSA) is a European censorship tool. US diplomats in Europe were instructed to push back against the DSA, and in late December last year the US imposed a visa ban on five European citizens due to their involvement in the DSA: former Commissioner Thierry Breton and four NGO staff members. EU leaders condemned the decision, with Macron referring to it as “coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty.”
After the European Commission published its fine for X for non-compliance with DSA transparency requirements, the Committee on the Judicial called the decision a “secret […] censorship order” and promised that”the Committee will continue investigating to protect American innovation and American speech from foreign censors.”
On 3 February 2026, the House Committee published a second report, following up on the previous publication, under the title: “The Foreign Censorship Threat, Part II: Europe’s Decade-Long Campaign to Censor the Global Internet and How It Harms American Speech in the United States”. Among other things, the report mentions the roundtable organised by the Dutch Authority for Consumer and Market, responsible for overseeing the DSA in the Netherlands, in the lead-up to parliamentary elections late last year. The report frames the meeting as an attempt to censor and labels the NGOs present, including Bits of Freedom and Justice for Prosperity, “censorous” without offering any further explanation.
Attack on our democratic rule of law
The report is a deliberate attack on our democratic rule of law, on how we organise, how we make inclusive decisions, and how we enforce those agreements. In doing this, the US undermines the legitimacy of the legislator, regulators and European civil society. This is pure intimidation and undermines our autonomy, it interferes with our sovereign power to legislate and enforce regulations as it is deemed best in the interests of our ;societies. Laws like the the DSA apply to all online platforms, regardless of where they are based, and if US companies want to operate in Europe, they have to comply with our legislation with no exception. The US is entitled to its opinions on foreign policy-making, but actively interfering is a step too far. If we dance to the US’s tune, citizens will pay the price withless transparency, more (political) manipulation on platforms and less protection against doxxing and hate campaigns.
The strong reactions to the Digital Services Act demonstrate the law’s power incurbing Big Tech andit shows the need for rapid enforcement. Moreover, the dominance of American technology in our society shows how vulnerable we are to foreign interference and censorship , as well as the threat to our autonomy.
What should happen now?
It is important that the European Union continues to speak out against intimidation that undermines our democratic processes. The European Commission must keep its back straight and uphold the law, while authorities should continue or even intensify enforcement. It is also important to ensure that authorities are mindful of the increased threat level surrounding DSA enforcement and protect civil society organisations, which are crucial to enforcement, against risks. Finally, Europe must reduce its dependency on US technology.
Five sanctions have already been imposed in the form of entry bans (visa measures) against Europeans involved in DSA enforcement, research and criticism of platform power. It shows that framing around ‘censorship’ can easily escalate into threats and personal repercussions. We call on the European Commission and the Dutch government to push back now visibly , and to support and stand by authorities, civil servants and civil society organisations.
Contribution by: EDRi member, Bits of Freedom (BoF)