This Thursday, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Czech Věra Jourová, Vice President of Values and Transparency of the European Commission, predicted that the United States will follow Europe's lead and impose laws against hate speech in the country.
While discussing the laws that criminalize hate speech in the European Union, Jourová hinted in that, in her opinion, the United States will adopt such measures "soon." She said there are "strong reasons" to adopt these kinds of rules.
European Commission VP Věra Jourová at the WEF:
"Illegal hate speech, which you will have soon also in the U.S. I think that we have a strong reason why we have this in the criminal law." pic.twitter.com/iLR1MePTYT
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) January 17, 2023
In addition to Jourová, the panel included Arthur Gregg Sulzberger, president of The New York Times; Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton; and Jeanne Bourgault, executive director of Internews. The panel was hosted by CNN anchor Brian Stelter.
When it was Moulton's turn to respond, he stated that "in general the US has a lot to learn in terms of data regulation." He added: "(Europe) is way ahead of us in that regard."
Later, however, the Democratic lawmaker admitted that he does not believe Congress is willing to ignore the First Amendment of the Constitution, which protects free speech and free expression in the country.
The dispute with Elon Musk
Jourová's comments come amid a tense climate between the European Union and Twitter over recent policies implemented on the platform following Elon Musk taking over as CEO. The South African billionaire has made changes regarding freedom of expression within the social network, disregarding some restrictions from Brussels.
Jourová urged Musk to partner with the European Union to work together on these issues, although she warned that they will not be flexible in implementing their laws:
They apply to Twitter regardless of who owns it. Musk should not underestimate our efforts to make big platforms responsible.
