Digital freedom and Big Tech regulation. That is what this panel is about. But before we dive into that, I take you back in time.

We go back to 1450. That was the time the printing press was invented. the Catholic Church celebrated. Finally, a way to spread the doctrine of the Church faster than ever. But when Martin Luther used that same press in 1517 to challenge the Church authority with his 95 theses, the joy turned to fear. By 1521, The Pope Leo X, declared Luther an outlaw. Why? Because the Catholic Church lost control over the narrative.

Fast forward to the internet age. Around 2010, US intelligence services (CIA) saw social media as a tool to push regime change abroad with ‘free speech everywhere’. The Arab Spring.

But then, they quickly realized with ‘free speech everywhere’: they had also lost their grip at home. Suddenly, people in the West were questioning everything—from wars to climate policies to lockdowns. Like the Church in 1520, the elites lost control over the narrative.

Enter the Twitter Files: After Elon Musk took over the Twitter platform he released all kinds of correspondence. The Twitter Files exposed how the US government leaned on Big Tech to produce ‘managed propaganda’ and suppress dissent. It wasn’t just about “fighting disinformation.” It was about silencing facts and voices that didn’t serve the government agenda. Scientists, journalists, and citizens who challenged the government narrative were censored or even erased. Just look at the Great Barrington Declaration during Covid.

This isn’t just a Big Tech problem. It’s Big Tech working hand-in-glove with government power. That alliance is the real threat to the rule of law and democracy. The people who claim to “protect democracy” are actually protecting their control.

In the U.S., things are shifting. Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter re-opened the debate. Free speech is finally being defended again by the Trump administration.

But in the EU, the walls are closing in. The Digital Services Act gives Brussels the power to strong-arm platforms with vague demands to combat “hate” and “disinformation.”

If I translate that: push the EU line and silence critics.

So, history repeats. 500 years later, the fight for free speech is the same. The tools change, but the people’s instinct to silence dissent never does. Luther faced the Pope. Today, conservative and Euro-critical voices face unelected technocrats of the European Commission and Silicon Valley censors. The principle is exactly the same.

The real divide isn’t left vs right. It’s freedom vs control. And some people would rather lose their freedom than let others keep theirs. Let that sink in: is full Sovjet Union style. That’s where we, as conservatives, as freedom loving people, should draw the line. Free speech – online or off-line – is the bedrock of our democracies, and that fight will never end.