The EU’s ‘Democracy Shield’ Is Really a Censorship Operating System
Researchers say the EU is constructing an information-control system that blurs the line between countering disinformation and managing public opinion.
Researchers say the EU is constructing an information-control system that blurs the line between countering disinformation and managing public opinion.
Free-speech advocates have warned for months that the Commission’s ‘Democracy Shield’ is less about defending democracy than defending Brussels itself.
Now, a wide-ranging report drawing on 25 official EU documents and other related sources has confirmed that the initiative is, in fact, a “censorship operating system designed to protect the Commission from the electorate.”
The new paper, authored by Dr. Norman Lewis—who has previously written on the ‘Democracy Shield’ for Europeanconservative.com—for MCC Brussels, says its “ultimate aim” is to “shield the unelected European Commission from domestic dissent and political accountability under the guise of fighting foreign interference.” In particular, by censoring anti-Brussels online content and promoting a more pro-establishment narrative.
So much for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s claim the ‘Shield’ “will protect and reinforce free speech, independent media, resilient institutions and a vibrant civil society.”
Democracy is the foundation of our freedom. Democracy is the foundation of our prosperity. Democracy is the foundation of our security.
The European Democracy Shield will protect and reinforce free speech, independent media, resilient institutions and a vibrant civil society. pic.twitter.com/0j4WAGIuPS
The scheme has been receiving growing criticism over recent months in the European Parliament.
The Patriots for Europe group has described it as “a shield for the Commission and its proxies—not for democracy, not for the citizens.” Indeed, Dutch group member Marieke Ehlers this week gave von der Leyen a copy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four as a “gift,” accusing the Commission of “attacking our freedom of speech.”
📽 De Commissie valt onze vrijheid van meningsuiting aan met haar “Democracy Shield” en Orwelliaans "Centrum voor Democratische Weerbaarheid”. Een Ministerie van Waarheid in wording. Daarom gaf ik de Commissaris vandaag een exemplaar van "1984" cadeau. 🎁 pic.twitter.com/er7ZG35VyQ
AfD MEP Christine Anderson also said Brussels was setting up an effective “ministry of truth, grooming influencers and fact-checkers to police thought and manufacture consent instead of trusting citizens as rational adults.”
🇬🇧🇺🇸🇨🇦 ++ The Democracy Shield is a Censorship Machine! ++ The so-called “Democracy Shield” is an EU-run ministry of truth, grooming influencers and fact-checkers to police thought and manufacture consent instead of trusting citizens as rational adults. 🇩🇪🇦🇹🇨🇭 ++ Der Democracy… pic.twitter.com/yiFHfam2x5
Some of the measures under the ‘Shield’ have already been introduced, with others set to follow over the coming months and years.
Michael Curzon is a news writer for europeanconservative.com based in England’s Midlands. He is also Editor of Bournbrook Magazine, which he founded in 2019, and previously wrote for London’s Express Online. His Twitter handle is @MichaelCurzon_.
