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US Building Online Portal to Bypass European Content Bans

The portal aims to bypass European bans on content, including hate speech and terrorist propaganda, supporting digital freedom without tracking users, State Department sources said.

  • The U.S. State Department's planned portal at freedom.gov aims to give access to government-banned content, with the site showing the National Design Studio logo on Feb 18.
  • The Trump administration has made defending free speech a foreign‑policy priority, denouncing the European Union's Digital Services Act and Britain's Online Safety Act as suppressing conservative voices online.
  • The project team includes Edward Coristine and the National Design Studio, with Rogers overseeing efforts; its unveiling last week was delayed amid concerns raised by State Department lawyers.
  • Former State Department official Kenneth Propp called freedom.gov 'a direct shot' at European rules, warning it could strain alliances; the EU delegation in Washington did not respond.
  • Regulatory history shows enforcement tools that could be applied across borders, as Germany issued 482 removal orders in 2024 and X paid a 120 million-euro fine, while the U.S. previously funded commercial VPNs.
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23 Articles

Center

The service could make visible, among other things, material classified as hate speech or terrorist propaganda.

·Finland
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Lean Right

According to insiders, the US is working on an online portal that can bypass other countries' or the EU's network closures. The offer is also intended to allow access to content classified and banned by the respective governments as hate speech or terrorist propaganda.

·Dortmund, Germany
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  • 47% of the sources are Center
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Semafor broke the news in New York, United States on Friday, January 16, 2026.
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