Rubio rings alarm over Europe’s free-speech erosion and how it could hit Americans

Secretary of State Marco Rubio detailed his concerns about the future of free speech in Europe on Friday.

Speaking to The Daily Wire at his end-of-the-year press conference, Rubio expressed that his top priority is places where “American free speech could be implicated.”

Watch:

RUBIO tells @realDailyWire’s @cameron_arcand he’s concerned that freedom of expression is being eroded in Europe pic.twitter.com/ahy4T1KcgS

— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) December 19, 2025

“The state department mentioned earlier this year some free speech concerns, particularly in Europe. What are some goals you have in regards to, in 2026, any counties or certain efforts you have?” Rubio was asked.

“Well, broadly, we’re concerned about any place, first and foremost, where American speech could be implicated,” he responded. “Are we going to live in a world where some American puts up a social media post and then gets to some airport somewhere and is arrested? We’re also concerned about the impact that some of their policies are having on our social media platforms.”

“As you recently saw, you know, X is facing this massive multi-million dollar fine that they’re going to have to pay, I guess, because they want to continue to operate. But I think more importantly, it touches on the broader question that was asked a little bit earlier. We all talk about how these alliances, in many cases our alliances with our European partners, are built on our common principles, our common values, as much as anything else,” Rubio added. “These aren’t just geopolitical arrangements; it is an alliance of like-minded countries with whom we share values and principles, and one of those values and principles, we hope, is freedom of expression. And we’re concerned that that is eroding.”

This is not the first time that the State Department has addressed concerns about freedom of expression abroad. In a July X post, the department noted that European citizens are being “convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments,” in response to a French statement that people are “free to speak, not free to spread illegal content.”

Look:

In Europe, thousands are being convicted for the crime of criticizing their own governments. This Orwellian message won’t fool the United States. Censorship is not freedom. https://t.co/cWcZfeWl4L pic.twitter.com/kCDhaXCVkC

— Department of State (@StateDept) July 22, 2025

“I think the concerns on free speech are very substantive, and they need a robust response, and we feel that the European Commission has not actually conducted a robust review in the sense of actually inviting all voices and all partners to the table,” Dr. Adina Portaru told Daily Wire last month.

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