Peter Menzies: Once Tools Are Available to Suppress Speech, Expect Them to Be Wielded With Enthusiasm

Commentary Once tools are available to suppress, punish, and intimidate speech, there is no shortage of people willing to use them. Of that there was perhaps no better example than the Aug. 12 warning issued by a French European Commission member to Elon Musk. The letter reminded the richest man in the world and owner of X of his “due diligence obligations” under the Commission’s Digital Services Act and the potential amplification of “harmful content.” It was sent on the eve of Musk’s planned livestream conversation with Donald Trump, past president of the USA and Republican candidate for the presidency in that country’s upcoming elections....