The Trump administration will fund efforts to promote free speech among Western nations allied with Washington, a senior State Department official said on Monday during a trip to Europe as US officials focused on pushing back against European rules branded censorship. US officials have opposed online rules such as the EU’s digital services law and Britain’s online security law, which Washington says curb free speech, and particularly criticism of immigration policy, while imposing heavy requirements on US tech companies. Advocates argue that these rules combat hate speech, misinformation and confusion online.
Sarah Rogers, who appeared Monday with a top aide to nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said the Trump administration was not at odds with the majority of Europeans on issues like immigration, citing polls in European countries that she did not specify. (X/@UnderSecPD)Sarah Rogers, the undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, who has emerged as a key figure in the push, will visit Dublin, Budapest, Warsaw and Munich to discuss free speech and digital freedom with officials and others, the State Department said.
“One of the ways my office will do things differently is we will be very clear and transparent about everything we do,” Rogers said during a panel discussion in Budapest on Monday, emphasizing that his role carries the ability to manage U.S. funding through grants. “I want to promote freedom of speech in Western-allied democracies, and… that’s what my donation is doing.” A Financial Times report last week cited sources with knowledge of the matter as saying that Rogers had discussed plans to fund think tanks and charities linked to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” policy with members of the UK opposition Reform Party. Asked about the report, a State Department spokeswoman did not confirm specific funding, but called the plan a transparent, lawful use of resources to advance U.S. interests and values abroad.
Forbidden view The administration’s national security strategy in December said European leaders were censoring free speech and cracking down on opposition to immigration policies it called a “civilizational wipeout” risk for the continent. The US then imposed a visa ban on a former European Union commissioner and Washington said he was involved in censoring US social media platforms. European leaders condemned the ban and defended Europe’s right to legislate how foreign companies operate locally. US officials have also linked up with far-right groups in Europe that they see as targets of the online rules, arguing that legitimate anti-immigration views are censored in the name of preventing hate speech. Rogers, who appeared Monday with a top aide to nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said the Trump administration was not at odds with the majority of Europeans on issues like immigration, citing polls in European countries that he did not specify.
“The United States government, through me, but not just me, has been aggressively involved in the issue of free speech, because you don’t have self-government without free speech, you can’t have a democratic discussion if views are banned from the public square,” Rogers said.
