Self-aggrandizing Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez badly wants to be the face of the ‘global resistance’ to technology billionaires. In peak Orwellian doublespeak, he accused CEOs like Musk and Zuckerberg of using their social media platforms to concentrate “power and wealth in the hands of just a few … at the cost of our democracies.” The comments came in Davos, in front of the wealthiest and most powerful audience possible.
Social media has become “a tool of oppression” that drives the far-right’s “reactionary agenda,” Sánchez said in his speech at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Wednesday, January 22nd. He called for the European Union to “make social media great again” by beefing up censorship, expanding government control, and punishing CEOs who wouldn’t budge under the pressure.
The PM even called for linking the social media accounts of all Europeans to the EU’s upcoming Digital Identity Wallet, in order to effectively end online anonymity once and for all.
It takes some audacity to say things like this and expect people to believe you, especially given that allegations of past government censorship on both Twitter and Facebook were established as facts. The Trump-aligned tech companies are now merely trying to rectify these mistakes, by reinstating freedom of speech on their platforms. Arguing for more government censorship that serves the interests of global political and financial elites while pretending not to be one of them and that it’s for the good of democracy—peak Orwellian doublespeak.
Still, we should be grateful that Sánchez has no awareness of irony because he perfectly described why we actually need online free speech. “What truly limits democracy is the power of the elites,” he said. “It is the power of those who think that because they are rich, they are above the law and can do anything.” Spot on. With his frequent abuses of power and blatant corruption scandals, Sánchez certainly behaves like he’s above the law.
Lacking self-awareness, he truly seems to believe that he is the living counterpoint to elite manipulation: “That is why, my friends, the tech billionaires want to overthrow democracy.” Never mind that there was no problem with social media companies while they were serving Democrat interests: there’s a problem only now that they are ending censorship to cozy up to Trump.
Earlier this week, the European Commission promised the panicking leftists in the European Parliament that it will significantly expand its legal toolbox to enforce social media companies’ compliance with anti-hate speech laws, but Sánchez thinks that’s not enough.
The socialist PM unveiled his three-point action plan to save democracy from Silicon Valley. It includes placing the oversight of social media algorithms under the control of specialized EU agencies, holding tech CEOs “personally accountable” for non-compliance with EU censorship laws, and—most importantly—ending online anonymity by linking all social media accounts to the European Digital Identity Wallet.
Not so fast, Elon Musk quipped after Sánchez’s speech. “This platform [X] will do whatever it takes to protect the rights of users to remain anonymous,” he promised.
Sánchez Calls To End Online Anonymity To ‘Save Democracy’ From Tech CEOs ━ The European Conservative