The EU’s former tech commissioner, Thierry Breton, declined an invitation to testify at a U.S. congressional hearing on Thursday into the bloc’s digital rules, which have been criticized by President Donald Trump’s allies as a threat to free speech.
“I respectfully regret to inform you that I will not be able to participate,” Breton wrote in a letter to Jim Jordan, the head of the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee.
Brussels has introduced sweeping new controls on online platforms through two flagship laws: the Digital Services Act (DSA), which focuses on content moderation, and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), targeting competition. The DSA in particular gives EU officials the power to pressure platforms into removing or blocking access to material labelled “illegal” or undesirable—raising fears of political censorship under the guise of consumer protection.
Trump warned this week that Washington could retaliate with new tariffs on countries adopting digital rules designed to “harm” U.S. technology. Brussels responded by insisting on its “sovereign right” to regulate the internet within the bloc.
Jordan announced that his committee would convene a hearing next week titled “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation”, with Nigel Farage confirmed as a witness. Breton, who served as EU internal market commissioner from 2019 to 2024, had been listed as an invited witness but declined to defend his record.
Instead, Breton pointed lawmakers to an op-ed he published in European newspapers, stressing the importance of a “respectful transatlantic partnership.”
