WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 31: Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr speaks at the House of Representatives Communications and Technology Hearing Thursday, March 31, 2022 at a Communications and Technology Hearing on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/Photo by The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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BARCELONA – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr vowed on Monday to defend the interests of American technology companies so that he would not urge “over-the-top” European regulations as he urged “level and level playing field.”
Speaking in front of tech industry leaders and analysts at the Mobile World Congress meeting in Barcelona, Carl said that the EU’s technical rules have been regarded by the US tech giants as “excessive” and “with American values.”
He specifically mentioned the EU Digital Service MethodThis is a landmark regulation in the group that aims to address illegal and harmful content online.
“We’re back to the roots of the First Amendment, we’re back to the tradition of freedom of speech,” Carl said, adding that people’s rights to freedom of speech on the Internet have eroded since 2020 and 2021.
“From President (Donald) Trump to me, throughout the administration, we encourage our technology companies to stop the censorship we have seen in the past few years,” Carl said.
“I have some concerns about the approach taken by Europe, especially the DSA,” he added. “There is a risk that the regulatory regime imposes too many rules on freedom of speech.”
This is not the first time the United States has raised concerns about European technical regulations.
At the AI International Summit in Paris last month, U.S. Vice President JD Vance Targeting Europeclaiming that regulations create heavy compliance considerations for U.S. technology companies.
On February 21, President Trump issued a directive that threatened to impose tariffs on Europe through digital service taxes, fines, practices and policies in response to what he called “overseas blackmail” by American tech companies.
In response to Trump’s tariffs, the EU has It is said that Threat to use New “reverse lubrication” instrumentwhich has allowed the group to act in the context of economic coercion against EU member states.
“I think it’s a concern for the people of Europe, but (also) American technology companies doing business here,” Carl said.
He added: “The censorship with DSA may be incompatible with our tradition of free speech in the United States and the commitments these technology companies make in the diversity of their views.”
The European Commission’s executive vice president of technical sovereignty, security and democracy said that ennavirkkunen did not directly address U.S. regulators’ comments on excessive European rules, when speaking in a panel discussion following Carl’s speech.
Instead, she said that in terms of technological innovation and digital transformation, Europe is committed to improving the competitiveness of the entire group.
“We will come up with a few packages that you are modifying the rules,” Virkkunen said. She also called for the creation of a digital single market to coordinate regulation in the EU technology and telecommunications industry.
This comes after Mario Draghi, former head of the European Central Bank Extensive reports have been released Urge fundamental reforms around technological competitiveness to address weak economic growth and productivity compared to the United States and China.
