Newly uncovered documents reveal that U.S. trade officials under the Biden administration worked hand-in-glove with European Union regulators to help craft the very censorship regime now being used to punish American tech companies — including Elon Musk’s X.
The documents, uncovered by the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO), show that U.S. officials actively collaborated with EU counterparts in shaping key provisions of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping digital regulation law that Brussels is now using to fine and threaten U.S.-based platforms.
According to the records, the U.S. International Trade Administration and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative coordinated with EU regulators through the U.S.–EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), a Biden-era initiative designed to align transatlantic policy on technology and digital governance.
Among the “shared priorities” developed through this process were provisions requiring online platforms to grant expansive access to internal data for so-called “disinformation researchers” — the very requirement cited by the European Commission in its recent enforcement action against X.
Earlier this month, the European Commission announced a $140 million fine against Elon Musk’s platform, accusing X of failing to comply with DSA mandates, including providing researchers access to platform data. The Commission also warned X that it has 60 days to submit a compliance plan or face daily penalties of up to 5 percent of its global revenue.
FFO’s reporting makes clear that the DSA was not merely a European invention, but the product of coordinated transatlantic policymaking. Documents show that as early as the first years of the Biden administration, Working Group 5 of the Trade and Technology Council was tasked with developing “shared approaches” to regulating online content, combating so-called “harmful information,” and enforcing platform data disclosure.
Central to the DSA’s enforcement mechanism is the role of “disinformation researchers” — entities that compile lists of allegedly problematic speech, speakers, and advertisers. These researchers are now granted privileged access to platform data, allowing them to pressure platforms indirectly through regulatory enforcement.
FFO notes that U.S. officials explicitly supported embedding these provisions into EU law — a fact the organization argues is “precisely why the EU has fined X.”
The Digital Services Act formally entered into force in 2022, creating an expansive regulatory framework governing online platforms operating within the EU. Crucially, the law applies extraterritorially, meaning any platform that serves EU users — regardless of where it is headquartered — falls under Brussels’ jurisdiction.
The European Commission has defended its actions as mandatory enforcement of EU law. But the penalty against X marks one of the most aggressive applications of the DSA against an American company to date and highlights the growing conflict between U.S. tech firms and European regulators.
What makes the situation particularly striking is that the same U.S. government now criticizing foreign censorship previously helped design the system enabling it. In effect, Biden-era trade officials appear to have exported American-style content moderation priorities to Europe — only to see them boomerang back against U.S. companies and free speech principles.
As the DSA is increasingly wielded as a regulatory weapon, the documents raise serious questions about how much responsibility U.S. officials bear for empowering foreign governments to police speech beyond their borders — and whether American tech companies are now paying the price for Washington’s ideological alignment with Brussels.
