US Congressman Jim Jordan’s probe into OpenAI’s communication with foreign administrations, including the European Union, has been backed in Brussels.
German right-wing and nationalist MEP Christine Anderson has supported the move, accusing the EU of using its tech laws to export censorship.
“The so-called ‘Brussels Effect’ has turned into outright regulatory imperialism. The US Congress is right to push back. EU rules should not dictate how American companies operate or what people outside Europe are allowed to say,”Anderson told Brussels Signal yesterday.
“The EU’s Digital Services Act [DSA] may claim to fight disinformation but in practice it exports censorship far beyond the bloc’s borders. Free nations must not let unelected Brussels bureaucrats set the boundaries of global speech,” she added.
Anderson is not alone in her position.
French MEP Virginie Joron echoed Jordan’s arguments, posting on X that the US move was “a bombshell” and proof that “the war against foreign regulation is exploding”.
In her post, she accused Brussels of using DSA to impose “censorship”.
Jordan, who chairs the US House Judiciary Committee, demanded that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman hand over records of the company’s contacts with foreign regulators, including the European Commission.
“We seek communications between OpenAI and foreign governments regarding the company’s compliance with foreign censorship laws,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Altman.
He also warned that regulators in Brussels and elsewhere are using the pretext of “fighting disinformation” to export speech controls that could muzzle US voices.
In his letter, he warned that the Digital Services Act could force OpenAI to comply with “foreign censorship laws”, effectively extending European speech controls into the US.
Washington has been trying to undermine EU tech rules: The US State Department under Secretary Marco Rubio has also reportedly instructed diplomats to push back against the DSA over free speech concerns.
Technology is not the only sector where the US is pushing back; a coalition of 16 State Attorneys General recently warned major US companies not to comply with new EU environmental and sustainability rules.
