The US president should use “every tool in the hardball diplomacy toolkit” against Brussels, Mike Benz has said
US President Donald Trump must urgently threaten to “knock… the f out” of a new EU law on disinformation that requires online platforms and search engines to restrict content deemed ‘fake news’ by the bloc, former State Department official Mike Benz has said.
The formerly voluntary Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which was integrated into the Digital Services Act (DSA) by Brussels earlier this year, became mandatory as of July 1. Under the law, major online platforms and search engines, mostly owned by US tech firms, are obliged to follow EU content rules or face penalties.
Benz, who worked on cybersecurity and internet policy at the State Department during Trump’s first term, took to X on Wednesday to warn that the likes of YouTube, X, Facebook, and Google would “now get whipped by huge EU fines.”
The Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which he described as a “Global Censorship Law,” had been the “secret weapon” of Brussels for a long time, but is now “fully unleashed,” the head of the self-described pro-free speech website Foundation For Freedom Online said.
Trump must “act urgently, top priority, to apply massive diplomatic, trade, aid and security muscle, every tool in the hardball diplomacy toolkit – up to and including our participation in NATO – to knock this law the f out,” he insisted.
The ONLY way to stop it is for the Trump White House to ACT URGENTLY, TOP PRIORITY, to apply MASSIVE diplomatic, trade, aid & security muscle, every tool in the hardball diplomacy toolkit – up to and including our participation in NATO – to KNOCK THIS LAW THE F OUT.
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) July 2, 2025
The disinformation code came into effect amid trade talks between Washington and Brussels, with Trump threatening to impose 50% tariffs on all imports from the EU if no deal is reached by the July 9 deadline.
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The European Commission’s tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, said on Monday that content moderation and digital competition are “not part of trade negotiations from our side” because they are “based on our European values.”
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