Vice President JD Vance ruffled plenty of feathers last weekend in Europe when he delivered some hard truths at the Munich Security Conference. His remarks were trending on X as he raised issues with free speech concerns and internal threats to the continent. Vance's concerns were validated with a "60 Minutes" episode that aired just days later, focusing on promoting how Germany is taking action against those who post "false information" online. Now, there's a new trend to do with free speech concerns in Europe, validating the vice president even further.
On Monday, buzz was circulating over a suggestion from Swiss National Council member Meret Schneider from the Green Party. On Sunday, Schneider posted about "Meret vs. Musk," referring to Elon Musk, who purchased X (then Twitter) in 2022.
"Rules are urgently needed, and ultimately these platforms must also be able to be blocked, she says. 'Today it concerns Germany, in a few years perhaps the elections in Switzerland,'" her post translates to read, quoting her statements from an article. The Tages-Anzeiger article headline is a direct quote from Schneider. Translated, it reads, "Meret Schneider: 'If necessary, X or Tiktok must be blocked.'"
From the start, the article mentions Vance and his remarks. A bullet point summarizing the article at the beginning also mentions Schneider's concerns with X. "Green National Councilor Meret Schneider is now making an initiative. Switzerland must act, platforms like X and Tiktok endanger democracy," one such translated bullet point reads.
Meret vs. Musk😅
— Meret Schneider (@Schneimere) February 16, 2025
Es brauche dringend Regeln, und in letzter Konsequenz müssten diese Plattformen auch gesperrt werden können, sagt sie. «Heute betrifft es Deutschland, in ein paar Jahren vielleicht die Wahlen in der Schweiz.»https://t.co/S8SFyFIYlb
This swiss councilor wants to ban X in Switzerland because it’s a threat to Democracy pic.twitter.com/jNbTG9RE58
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 17, 2025
The article mentions the European Union's issues with Musk and X, though according to Schneider, the EU isn't going far enough. As one translated excerpt reads:
One of the pioneers for the regulation of social media in Switzerland is Green National Councilor Meret Schneider. She is currently preparing an initiative to get things moving. “The EU has been taking action against tech giants for a long time, and we have simply done nothing,” says Schneider. Platforms like X, Facebook or Tiktok are a danger to democracy, and the election campaign in Germany shows this clearly. “Posts that benefit the AfD are pushed, while opposing content is suppressed.”
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been something of a boogeyman in Germany, often especially as elections approach, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government having collapsed last December. The AfD is often referred to as a "far-right" party. That Schneider would be speaking about AfD benefiting from such "suppress[ion]" is truly rich, given how much of that is already going on, as highlighted in the "60 Minutes" episode.
Schneider herself posted throughout Monday as well, including reactions to the article above from Tages-Anzeiger. As one such post translated read in part, "I demand transparency regarding the algorithms of the social platforms, no political influence on elections by the platform operators and easier options to report deep fakes and legally relevant statements."
Her post continued to highlight the reactions from those who dare take issue with potentially banning social media platforms. "Voila, the reactions. No, #Hatespeech is really not a problem," Schneider continued.
Ich fordere Transparenz bez. Algorithmen der sozialen Plattformen, keine politische Beeinflussung von Wahlen durch die Plattformbetreiber und einfacher Möglichkeiten Deep Fakes und justizialble Statements zu melden.
— Meret Schneider (@Schneimere) February 17, 2025
Voilà, die Reaktionen. Nee, #Hatespeech ist echt kein Problem. pic.twitter.com/qtbk4vyCk1
A translation of her most recent post, from Tuesday, indicated how she's looking "on the bright side," adding, "I don't understand a single hate comment there." The post also indicates she's "been off for a while now."
The post links to another article from Tages-Anzeiger, translated to read, "Meret Schneider comments on the regulation of social media and gets caught up in a right-wing sh**storm." The actual headline is not censored, though, and also conveniently cites Schneider's calls for censorship with a potential outright ban of popular social media platforms as "regulation," while blaming those who dare to criticize such a suggestion as being "right-wing."
As the councilor herself has been forthcoming about, she has suffered from an eating disorder, with photos of her circulating over X clearly showing the effects.
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