Former State Department official Mike Benz warned Wednesday of an emerging international plot to regain control over American social media platforms.
During an appearance on “Bannon’s War Room,” Benz spoke out against what he described as an “exile network of U.S. censors.” Benz said that many American speech regulators, having been pushed out of domestic influence, are now working with foreign governments to weaponize international law against U.S.-based tech companies.
“This is the secret weapon of the global censors to be able to get back control over X and Facebook and Instagram after the free speech efforts by Elon and, to some extent, Mark Zuckerberg. And this is a message that if EU [European Union] regulators decide to go too far on that, they will be persona non grata here in the U.S.,” Benz said.
Benz added that former U.S. officials are now working hand-in-hand with foreign regimes to suppress free speech by imposing overseas censorship laws on American platforms and users.
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“The U.S. censors in exile have fled to their in-power government allies in foreign governments to use foreign censorship laws to coerce American social media companies and American citizens about what they can and cannot post online,” Benz said.
Benz praised recent moves by the State Department to dismantle key censorship hubs, including the Global Engagement Center and USAID’s censorship-related funding arms.
Benz discussed what he said is a fundamental clash between national sovereignty and globalist censorship networks.
“Now, they are sending a message to global speech regulators that we will fight back if they try to enforce the clause of foreign law speech control against American social media companies. Right now [in] the EU, the Code of Practice on Disinformation will be mandatory in just one month’s time in the European Union,” Benz said. (RELATED: ‘Strong And Clear Message’: European Bureaucrats Slap American Tech Giants With Massive Fines)
The European Union’s Code of Practice on Disinformation, initially a voluntary initiative from 2018, has been formally integrated into the Digital Services Act (DSA) as a Code of Conduct. Starting July 1, 2025, the Code will serve as a benchmark for Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines to demonstrate compliance with EU disinformation risk regulations.
Under the DSA, these platforms must assess and mitigate systemic risks such as disinformation by reducing financial incentives, increasing transparency in political advertising, and boosting fact-checking efforts. Although participation in the Code remains voluntary, the EU will enforce annual audits to ensure accountability and compliance with these standards.
Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Europe’s digital taxes on U.S. tech firms could strain trade ties and weaken Western unity on tech policy. He argued that measures like the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act unfairly target American companies and risk undermining cooperation against China.
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