Latest news with #FoundationForFreedomOnline
Russia Today
a day ago
- Business
- Russia Today
Trump should ‘knock the f*** out' of EU disinfo law – ex-State Dept official
US President Donald Trump must urgently threaten to 'knock... the f out' of a new EU law on disinformation that obliges online platforms and search engines to restrict content deemed 'fake news' by the bloc, ex-State dept official Mike Benz has insisted. The formerly voluntary Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which was integrated into the Digital Services Act (DSA) by Brussels earlier this year, became mandatory as of July 1. Under the law, major online platforms and search engines, mostly owned by US tech firms, are obliged to follow EU content rules or face penalties. Benz, who worked on cybersecurity and internet policy at the State Department during Trump's first term, took to X on Wednesday to warn that the likes of YouTube, X, Facebook, and Google would 'now get whipped by huge EU fines.' The Code of Conduct on Disinformation, which he described as a 'Global Censorship Law,' had been the 'secret weapon' of Brussels for a long time, but is now 'fully unleashed,' the head of the self-described pro-free speech website Foundation For Freedom Online said. Trump must 'act urgently, top priority, to apply massive diplomatic, trade, aid and security muscle, every tool in the hardball diplomacy toolkit – up to and including our participation in NATO – to knock this law the f out,' he insisted. The ONLY way to stop it is for the Trump White House to ACT URGENTLY, TOP PRIORITY, to apply MASSIVE diplomatic, trade, aid & security muscle, every tool in the hardball diplomacy toolkit - up to and including our participation in NATO - to KNOCK THIS LAW THE F OUT. The disinformation code came into effect amid trade talks between Washington and Brussels, with Trump threatening to impose 50% tariffs on all imports from the EU if no deal is reached by the July 9 deadline. The European Commission's tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, said on Monday that content moderation and digital competition are 'not part of trade negotiations from our side' because they are 'based on our European values.'
Fox News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Mike Benz: Did Would-be Trump Assassin Ryan Routh Work For The US Government? PLUS, Why The Tariff Wars Could Define America's Next 50 Years
Story #1: The next 50 years will be defined by the economic stories of the past week, and no one is entirely sure how it will play out. Will makes sense of it all, especially as President Donald Trump ramps up the tariff war against China. Story #2: Did would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh work for the US Government? And what really happened when 7 U.S. soldiers came down with COVID in Wuhan in the fall of 2019? Will sits down with Executive Director of the Foundation For Freedom Online & Former Official with the U.S. Department of State, Mike Benz. Story #3: Kurt Russell's Top 5 competition among actors: How does he rank against the likes of Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, and Patrick Swayze? Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing WillCainShow@ Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Fox News
06-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
'Damn right': Liz Cheney's past USAID employment faces backlash after lashing out at Elon Musk
Former GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney was ripped by conservatives on social media after she defended her previous work at USAID, which became the most prominent target of DOGE in recent days, in an exchange on X that drew the attention of DOGE's leader, Elon Musk. "Damn right, @Elon," Cheney said on X in response to Musk, tagging an account that does not belong to Musk, on Wednesday. "I'm proud of what America did to win the Cold War, defeat Soviet communism, and defend democracy. Our nation stood for freedom. You may be unfamiliar with that part of our history since you weren't yet an American citizen." Musk had written "interesting" in response to a post from Foundation For Freedom Online Executive Director Mike Benz, who had written that Cheney was "spawned" out of USAID, citing her previous position as an officer for the embattled and now seemingly shuttered agency. Cheney spent time at USAID working within embassies related to efforts in Poland, Hungary, Russia and Ukraine. Several conservatives on social media took issue with Cheney's comment and defended Musk against any implication that he is "unfamiliar" with U.S. history. "He is an American by choice instead of by birth, which is a weird thing to insult someone over, but more importantly, he didn't commit so many crimes against the country that he had to be pardoned by Joe Biden, so he's got that going for him," Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway posted on X. "You care more about illegals coming to this country stealing from this country than @elon giving to this country," former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones posted on X. "Ya, but he was around when your daddy was making the military industrial complex billions sending me and my buddies to die chasing the ghosts of WMDs in Iraq," Fox News contributor Joey Jones posted on X. "Love the anti-immigrant sentiment from Liz," Right Turn Strategies President Chris Barron posted on X. "Funny how they always end up being everything they claim their opponents are." "The fact Elon said a single word and was able to set you off tells me a lot, Liz," editor Samantha Janney posted on X. "What's also revealing is your connection to USAID. Damn proud of WY for firing you." "What a xenophobe," Breitbart senior editor Joel Pollak posted on X. "Pure bigotry." "From Liz Cheney to Barack Obama, a lot of people still don't appreciate how much of America's political aristocracy class grew up in USAID families," Benz posted on X earlier this week. The online debate about Cheney's time at USAID comes after Musk's DOGE efforts have resulted in the agency being effectively shut down over what the Trump administration argues is wasteful spending. "For decades, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous — and, in many cases, malicious — pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight," the White House said Monday. The future of USAID remains unclear, though the doors to its headquarters were closed Monday, and thousands of employees across the globe sat waiting to hear whether they still had jobs after the apparent Musk takeover. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been named the acting director, and he agreed Monday with the White House that the agency needed an overhaul. "The president made me the acting administrator," he told Fox News. "I've delegated that power to someone who is there full time, and we're going to go through the same process at USAID as we're going through now at the State Department."
