WEBVTT 00:00.889 --> 00:03.056 Mr . Secretary , thank you so much for 00:03.056 --> 00:04.945 being here with . Sharing for the 00:04.945 --> 00:07.167 American people a very momentous day in 00:07.167 --> 00:09.389 the history of the State Department and 00:09.389 --> 00:11.389 the US government in restoring free 00:11.389 --> 00:13.611 speech and America's role as the beacon 00:13.611 --> 00:15.611 of free speech . Some very historic 00:15.611 --> 00:17.722 transpired today . Could you tell the 00:17.722 --> 00:17.709 American people what that was ? Well , 00:17.750 --> 00:19.819 we ended government sponsored , uh , 00:19.829 --> 00:22.051 censorship in the United States through 00:22.051 --> 00:23.940 the State Department , and let me 00:23.940 --> 00:26.162 explain how we get there . This started 00:26.162 --> 00:26.149 out , you know , 1510 years ago with 00:26.149 --> 00:28.149 this effort of let's go after the 00:28.149 --> 00:30.205 messaging that al Qaeda and ISIS and 00:30.205 --> 00:32.427 others are putting to radicalize people 00:32.427 --> 00:34.482 I know who's gonna be against that ? 00:34.482 --> 00:36.538 That sounds normal . And then it was 00:36.538 --> 00:36.209 like in 2016 , 0 , you know , we had 00:36.209 --> 00:38.042 this foreign interference in our 00:38.042 --> 00:40.153 election , we need to start targeting 00:40.153 --> 00:42.153 some of that stuff . By 2020 it had 00:42.153 --> 00:44.049 grown into this movement of like 00:44.049 --> 00:45.827 actually going after individual 00:45.827 --> 00:47.938 American voices . And one of the ways 00:47.938 --> 00:49.716 that was being done wasn't just 00:49.716 --> 00:51.605 directly because the guy that was 00:51.605 --> 00:51.130 running this thing , Stengel was 00:51.130 --> 00:53.019 actually a guy that was out there 00:53.019 --> 00:55.186 saying , you know , Donald Trump talks 00:55.186 --> 00:57.408 just like a Russian spy . He talks just 00:57.408 --> 00:59.519 like a terrorist and so do the people 00:59.519 --> 01:01.686 around him , but they were also taking 01:01.686 --> 01:03.908 money from this program and using it to 01:03.908 --> 01:05.908 fund these NGOs , these third party 01:05.908 --> 01:07.908 groups who were supposed to be like 01:07.908 --> 01:09.852 impartial . Those groups were then 01:09.852 --> 01:11.908 tagged . They were literally tagging 01:11.908 --> 01:13.686 and labeling voices in American 01:13.686 --> 01:16.019 politics . Ben Shapiro , the Federalist , 01:16.019 --> 01:18.241 others tagging them as foreign agents . 01:18.241 --> 01:20.019 So you look at and say American 01:20.019 --> 01:22.186 taxpayers through the State Department 01:22.186 --> 01:24.352 were paying groups to attack Americans 01:24.352 --> 01:26.297 and to try to silence the voice of 01:26.297 --> 01:28.241 Americans and they were consequent 01:28.241 --> 01:27.675 these weren't just a label they put on 01:27.675 --> 01:29.564 people . Some of these people got 01:29.564 --> 01:31.564 de-platformed they got taken down , 01:31.564 --> 01:33.675 they couldn't communicate , so it was 01:33.675 --> 01:35.870 outrageous so . Before President Trump 01:35.870 --> 01:38.037 took over , they disbanded this unit . 01:38.037 --> 01:39.926 They just renamed it and moved it 01:39.926 --> 01:41.981 somewhere else but now over the last 01:41.981 --> 01:41.949 few months we've worked on it and just 01:41.949 --> 01:44.060 taken it down and to the extent we're 01:44.060 --> 01:46.171 spending money now we are gonna spend 01:46.171 --> 01:48.282 money on on messaging . It's gonna be 01:48.282 --> 01:50.393 pro-American messaging and it's going 01:50.393 --> 01:52.616 to be incentivizing and protecting free 01:52.616 --> 01:54.838 speech which is threatened all over the 01:54.838 --> 01:54.349 world including countries that are 01:54.349 --> 01:56.440 allies of ours . The best way to 01:56.440 --> 01:58.551 counter disinformation or that's what 01:58.551 --> 02:00.718 people are thinking is out there , the 02:00.718 --> 02:02.829 best way to counter disinformation is 02:02.829 --> 02:05.051 free speech is to make sure that what's 02:05.051 --> 02:04.760 true has an equal or greater 02:04.760 --> 02:06.816 opportunity to communicate as what's 02:06.816 --> 02:08.982 not true . We've learned that the hard 02:08.982 --> 02:10.593 way , but when you turn this 02:10.593 --> 02:12.816 information into a weapon , a political 02:12.816 --> 02:15.038 weapon , a label that you can use to go 02:15.038 --> 02:17.204 after people you don't like and say oh 02:17.204 --> 02:16.970 anything that person is saying is 02:16.970 --> 02:19.440 disinformation . Well , listen , I read . 02:20.210 --> 02:22.266 Mainstream newspapers every day or I 02:22.266 --> 02:24.649 watch mainstream broadcast , mainstream 02:24.649 --> 02:26.729 broadcast every day that I know are 02:26.729 --> 02:28.896 disinformation . OK , we have an issue 02:28.896 --> 02:30.729 right now . They keep calling it 02:30.729 --> 02:33.007 Maryland man . Deported to El Salvador , 02:33.007 --> 02:35.007 no , not Maryland man . El Salvador 02:35.007 --> 02:36.896 citizen deported to El Salvador . 02:36.896 --> 02:39.229 That's disinformation every day . I , I , 02:39.229 --> 02:41.340 a US senator yesterday said that this 02:41.340 --> 02:43.396 guy was a kidnapped American citizen 02:43.396 --> 02:45.451 and they published it in the article 02:45.451 --> 02:47.507 without any fact check . He's not an 02:47.507 --> 02:47.350 American citizen . So the important 02:47.350 --> 02:49.517 thing is that we have free speech , so 02:49.517 --> 02:51.683 we can counter that so we can say this 02:51.683 --> 02:53.906 is not true . That's the way you handle 02:53.906 --> 02:55.850 that . And um you know but we have 02:55.850 --> 02:57.794 instances now in Western countries 02:57.794 --> 02:57.460 where people are being arrested . 02:57.509 --> 02:59.731 You've seen the this I'm sure you , you 02:59.731 --> 03:01.787 know what I'm talking about . People 03:01.787 --> 03:04.009 are out there , they put a post and the 03:04.009 --> 03:02.899 cop comes knocking on their door . 03:02.910 --> 03:05.132 You're gonna go to jail for 60 days for 03:05.132 --> 03:07.132 posting something online , you know 03:07.132 --> 03:09.188 this is crazy stuff that's happening 03:09.188 --> 03:11.188 around the vice president addressed 03:11.188 --> 03:13.299 this in a speech at the at the Munich 03:13.299 --> 03:15.132 conference , uh , back in , uh . 03:15.132 --> 03:17.354 February , um , so we got a lot of work 03:17.354 --> 03:19.132 to do , but , uh , but the most 03:19.132 --> 03:18.839 important thing is we're gonna make 03:18.839 --> 03:20.783 sure that as we communicate to the 03:20.783 --> 03:22.950 world it's gonna be pro-American , you 03:22.950 --> 03:25.061 know , things that build up what this 03:25.061 --> 03:27.061 country's working on and explaining 03:27.061 --> 03:28.895 what we're doing , not attacking 03:28.895 --> 03:28.770 Americans who are exercising their 03:28.770 --> 03:30.826 First Amendment rights , the classic 03:30.826 --> 03:32.826 work of the State Department in the 03:32.826 --> 03:35.649 20th century , and , uh , you mentioned 03:35.649 --> 03:38.199 this network that was paid through the 03:38.199 --> 03:40.199 State Department through grants and 03:40.199 --> 03:42.366 contracts and my understanding is that 03:42.366 --> 03:44.399 network also targeted . The the 03:44.399 --> 03:46.520 Undersecretary for public diplomacy 03:46.520 --> 03:49.759 Darren Beatty who uh I I believe played 03:49.759 --> 03:51.981 an important role in this restructuring 03:51.981 --> 03:54.800 as well and credit to you and and to uh 03:54.800 --> 03:57.539 and to the Undersecretary . Um , one of 03:57.539 --> 03:59.706 the questions that that remains , this 03:59.706 --> 04:01.761 is obviously amazing news I think to 04:01.761 --> 04:03.817 the entire American people about the 04:03.817 --> 04:06.039 defunding and the restructuring . There 04:06.039 --> 04:08.206 are lingering questions about what was 04:08.206 --> 04:10.649 done during that period where we now 04:10.649 --> 04:12.880 have so many people wondering was I 04:12.880 --> 04:15.102 censored because of something the state 04:15.102 --> 04:17.324 department did was my news organization 04:17.324 --> 04:19.540 bankrupted where advertisers contacted 04:19.540 --> 04:21.459 about it and there are aggrieved 04:21.459 --> 04:23.339 parties . There's an important 04:23.339 --> 04:25.450 historical record . Record that needs 04:25.450 --> 04:27.395 to be unearthed . There are active 04:27.395 --> 04:29.617 lawsuits . There are many reasons for a 04:29.617 --> 04:31.950 public disclosure effort on top of this , 04:32.100 --> 04:34.267 uh , development today . Are there any 04:34.267 --> 04:36.378 efforts underway to be able to have a 04:36.378 --> 04:38.619 kind of geck files as there were the 04:38.619 --> 04:40.786 Twitter files ? Yeah , so I think what 04:40.786 --> 04:42.841 we have to do now and Darren will be 04:42.841 --> 04:44.952 big and involved in that as well , is 04:44.952 --> 04:44.779 sort of document what happened because 04:44.779 --> 04:46.779 one thing is to say it in in a in a 04:46.779 --> 04:48.946 broadcast like this . Another thing is 04:48.946 --> 04:51.168 to actually put it on paper and there's 04:51.168 --> 04:50.299 two reasons to do it . The first is 04:50.299 --> 04:52.466 because I think people who were harmed 04:52.466 --> 04:54.577 deserve to know that . And be able to 04:54.577 --> 04:56.632 prove that they were harmed and then 04:56.632 --> 04:58.577 the other is to make sure it never 04:58.577 --> 05:00.521 happens again , right ? so that 10 05:00.521 --> 04:59.700 years from now when someone has a 04:59.700 --> 05:01.756 brilliant idea like this again , you 05:01.756 --> 05:03.756 know , not brilliant idea like this 05:03.756 --> 05:05.867 again , you can point to that and say 05:05.867 --> 05:08.089 oh this was done once before and here's 05:08.089 --> 05:07.339 the reason why we don't . That's why 05:07.339 --> 05:09.395 accountability is important in these 05:09.395 --> 05:11.561 things because it doesn't just provide 05:11.561 --> 05:13.728 justice and , and but it also prevents 05:13.728 --> 05:15.839 it from happening in the future . You 05:15.839 --> 05:15.420 have something you can point to at the 05:15.420 --> 05:17.531 same time and say these are the kinds 05:17.531 --> 05:19.642 of things we wanna stay away from and 05:19.642 --> 05:21.809 you know it's also a very uh important 05:21.809 --> 05:24.170 lesson here . If I take you back 15 05:24.170 --> 05:26.392 years and I ask somebody , do you think 05:26.392 --> 05:28.448 we should be doing more to make sure 05:28.448 --> 05:30.614 ISIS and Al Qaeda are not radicalizing 05:30.614 --> 05:32.670 people online ? 15 years ago we just 05:32.670 --> 05:34.892 said , yeah , of course , but look what 05:34.892 --> 05:34.529 that turned into , and I'm not saying 05:34.529 --> 05:36.529 I'm , I'm , you know , obviously we 05:36.529 --> 05:38.807 don't want ISIS radicalizing everybody , 05:38.807 --> 05:38.769 but you have to understand that 05:38.769 --> 05:40.936 sometimes some idea that starts out as 05:40.936 --> 05:43.102 innocuous or maybe even good intention 05:43.102 --> 05:45.158 whatever . Can metastasize becomes a 05:45.158 --> 05:46.880 weapon that can be turned into 05:46.880 --> 05:49.102 something else by someone else that's a 05:49.102 --> 05:51.269 valuable lesson here and everything we 05:51.269 --> 05:53.491 do you have to understand that when you 05:53.491 --> 05:55.602 create something what you created and 05:55.602 --> 05:55.510 what it turns into are not necessarily 05:55.510 --> 05:57.566 the same thing , especially when the 05:57.566 --> 05:59.010 people in charge change . 05:59.010 --> 06:01.380 Frankensteinian monster that takes on a 06:01.380 --> 06:04.260 life of its own . So then that is to 06:04.260 --> 06:06.204 say you can commit to the American 06:06.204 --> 06:07.982 public now that there will be a 06:07.982 --> 06:10.038 transparency effort to actually yeah 06:10.038 --> 06:12.204 that's already started because I think 06:12.204 --> 06:12.179 as part of justifying doing all this we 06:12.179 --> 06:14.401 had to document this , right ? So now I 06:14.401 --> 06:16.512 think there's more in depth and we'll 06:16.512 --> 06:18.623 create a process for people that sort 06:18.623 --> 06:20.790 of point we . Already know some of the 06:20.790 --> 06:20.234 higher profile ones , but they're more 06:20.234 --> 06:22.290 than a higher profile ones , right ? 06:22.290 --> 06:24.345 There are a lot of other , including 06:24.345 --> 06:26.456 everyday individual American citizens 06:26.456 --> 06:28.567 who suddenly were labeled and I think 06:28.567 --> 06:30.401 this is gonna require some cross 06:30.401 --> 06:32.401 jurisdictional work because some of 06:32.401 --> 06:34.456 it's gonna require us to go back and 06:34.456 --> 06:36.678 prove OK , somebody got deplatformed in 06:36.678 --> 06:39.554 2021 right ? and uh like in the middle 06:39.554 --> 06:41.110 of COVID 2020 , someone got 06:41.110 --> 06:43.394 deplatformed and tracking we can prove 06:43.394 --> 06:45.116 that people can show hey I got 06:45.116 --> 06:47.283 deplatformed by the old Facebook or by 06:47.283 --> 06:49.450 the old Twitter or whatever . But then 06:49.450 --> 06:51.505 linking that so why were they deeply 06:51.505 --> 06:53.616 who told them to deep platform and if 06:53.616 --> 06:55.727 we could somehow with internal review 06:55.727 --> 06:57.394 create a linkage between some 06:57.394 --> 06:59.450 information that came from something 06:59.450 --> 07:01.505 the state department paid for and an 07:01.505 --> 07:03.561 actual aggrieved party that's what's 07:03.561 --> 07:05.505 important because I think that one 07:05.505 --> 07:05.309 thing is to point to the high profile 07:05.309 --> 07:07.253 cases which we're aware of , but I 07:07.253 --> 07:09.309 think when people see that they were 07:09.309 --> 07:11.198 actually just individual everyday 07:11.198 --> 07:13.476 Americans that were de-platformed , uh , 07:13.476 --> 07:15.642 and , and for whatever silence because 07:15.642 --> 07:17.753 somebody associated with this program 07:17.753 --> 07:19.976 identified them . I think that's what's 07:19.976 --> 07:22.198 really gonna be eye opening to a lot of 07:22.198 --> 07:21.320 people , but we didn't want to wait for 07:21.320 --> 07:23.542 that to take action . We know enough to 07:23.542 --> 07:25.598 already act , but we obviously wanna 07:25.598 --> 07:27.764 know the depth and the scope of this . 07:27.764 --> 07:27.559 That's gonna happen . It's already 07:27.559 --> 07:29.726 happening . This is a program that has 07:29.726 --> 07:31.503 been shrouded in secrecy . Uh , 07:31.503 --> 07:33.726 journalists like Matt Taibbi have tried 07:33.726 --> 07:35.726 toOIA for . Any of these grants and 07:35.726 --> 07:37.781 contracts and have , have , uh , you 07:37.781 --> 07:39.781 know , encountered the stonewall so 07:39.781 --> 07:41.948 this is I think amazing news uh I know 07:41.948 --> 07:43.837 that you're a very busy man and I 07:43.837 --> 07:43.734 appreciate all the all the time here . 07:43.744 --> 07:46.424 So , uh , the final question is on the 07:46.424 --> 07:48.146 international stage as you are 07:48.146 --> 07:50.257 repositioning the State Department to 07:50.257 --> 07:52.394 have the US once again be the global 07:52.394 --> 07:54.704 beacon for free speech and liberty we 07:54.704 --> 07:57.454 face threats around the world from , uh , 07:57.464 --> 07:59.353 censorship laws coming out of the 07:59.353 --> 08:01.464 European Union coming out of Brazil , 08:01.464 --> 08:04.119 coming out of really uh . A network of 08:04.119 --> 08:06.119 countries that have taken the 08:06.119 --> 08:08.175 legitimacy of things like the Global 08:08.175 --> 08:10.286 Engagement Center and said oh it's OK 08:10.286 --> 08:12.600 in the Western world to have uh media 08:12.600 --> 08:14.378 literacy programs , information 08:14.378 --> 08:17.079 integrity , uh miss this malformation 08:17.079 --> 08:19.079 programs , and many of those global 08:19.079 --> 08:21.239 engagement center partner ecosystem 08:21.239 --> 08:23.183 partners have been involved in the 08:23.183 --> 08:25.359 shaping of those foreign laws . Many 08:25.359 --> 08:27.470 have are actually have been funded by 08:27.470 --> 08:29.526 the State Department and USAid being 08:29.526 --> 08:31.192 signatories on the EU Code of 08:31.192 --> 08:33.359 disinformation . Uh , implementing the 08:33.359 --> 08:35.359 EU Digital Services Act , which was 08:35.359 --> 08:37.137 threatened to be turned against 08:37.137 --> 08:39.248 Americans when Elon Musk famously had 08:39.248 --> 08:41.359 that X space with Donald Trump during 08:41.359 --> 08:43.192 the election season . So my , my 08:43.192 --> 08:45.359 question to you is , uh , is there any 08:45.359 --> 08:47.415 insights that you can provide to the 08:47.415 --> 08:49.415 American people about how the State 08:49.415 --> 08:51.581 Department is going to go about , uh , 08:51.581 --> 08:53.840 once again restoring free speech , uh , 08:53.849 --> 08:56.049 in , in a world where we are facing 08:56.049 --> 08:58.271 foreign threats from the European Union 08:58.271 --> 08:59.993 and Brazil and other places to 08:59.993 --> 09:01.938 Americans' ability to talk . First 09:01.938 --> 09:03.993 thing obviously is uh our number one 09:03.993 --> 09:06.160 priority is Americans so we don't want 09:06.160 --> 09:08.216 to see an American who happens to be 09:08.216 --> 09:10.105 living in London or happens to be 09:10.105 --> 09:12.271 living in Europe post something online 09:12.271 --> 09:14.493 about American politics or any politics 09:14.493 --> 09:13.909 and all of a sudden they're facing 09:13.909 --> 09:16.119 ramifications over there or or they're 09:16.119 --> 09:18.119 denied entry and you know something 09:18.119 --> 09:20.063 happens , you know , uh , or we're 09:20.063 --> 09:22.230 denying them into our country or we're 09:22.230 --> 09:22.169 gonna arrest them because they posted 09:22.169 --> 09:24.336 something while living overseas so our 09:24.336 --> 09:26.391 number one interest is the impact it 09:26.391 --> 09:28.558 has on Americans . The broader point , 09:28.558 --> 09:28.000 which is the one I think the vice 09:28.000 --> 09:31.270 president made very clear it in um . In 09:31.270 --> 09:33.326 in Munich at the security conference 09:33.326 --> 09:35.437 and you know people freaked out about 09:35.437 --> 09:37.659 what he said but it's true . What is it 09:37.659 --> 09:39.659 that links us with Western Europe ? 09:39.659 --> 09:41.770 What is it that links us with these ? 09:41.770 --> 09:43.937 It's our shared values and 11 of those 09:43.937 --> 09:45.937 shared values we hope is freedom of 09:45.937 --> 09:48.048 expression . I know they don't have a 09:48.048 --> 09:47.119 First Amendment , but freedom of 09:47.119 --> 09:49.719 expression , right ? And um , and if 09:49.719 --> 09:52.039 that is eroded , if suddenly these 09:52.039 --> 09:54.261 become places where people are targeted 09:54.320 --> 09:56.431 and because of what they said or what 09:56.431 --> 09:58.376 their opinion is , then one of the 09:58.376 --> 10:00.809 pillars of our shared interest beyond 10:00.809 --> 10:02.809 military cooperation mounting up is 10:02.809 --> 10:05.031 under attack and I think he made a very 10:05.031 --> 10:07.142 vibrant point that . In some ways you 10:07.142 --> 10:09.253 are attacking by attacking freedom of 10:09.253 --> 10:11.476 expression you are attacking one of the 10:11.476 --> 10:11.280 pillars of our shared interest , our 10:11.280 --> 10:13.336 shared culture , our shared values , 10:13.440 --> 10:15.384 and so I think that we raised that 10:15.384 --> 10:17.496 we've raised that . I mean I can tell 10:17.496 --> 10:19.607 you we were at an Oval Office meeting 10:19.607 --> 10:21.718 with the Prime Minister of the United 10:21.718 --> 10:21.669 Kingdom and this issue came up . So 10:21.669 --> 10:23.891 this has been raised it becomes part of 10:23.891 --> 10:26.479 our diplomatic situation that we raise 10:26.479 --> 10:28.146 when we interact with foreign 10:28.146 --> 10:29.868 interlocutors . I think what's 10:29.868 --> 10:31.859 troubling is . We understand like 10:31.859 --> 10:33.915 that's always gonna be an issue when 10:33.915 --> 10:36.192 you certain countries around the world , 10:36.192 --> 10:38.248 but when you're dealing with Western 10:38.248 --> 10:40.359 European allies and that's who you're 10:40.359 --> 10:42.581 talking to about this stuff , it really 10:42.581 --> 10:41.840 tells you how far it's gone and how big 10:41.840 --> 10:44.062 a problem and that's a new thing for us 10:44.062 --> 10:46.229 to have to raise in those capitals but 10:46.229 --> 10:48.451 we we do it and we do it everywhere and 10:48.451 --> 10:48.239 I've personally witnessed the president 10:48.239 --> 10:50.295 and the vice president raise it with 10:50.295 --> 10:52.750 multiple um foreign leaders . And I 10:52.750 --> 10:54.861 think you're gonna continue to see an 10:54.861 --> 10:56.972 emphasis on that in our diplomacy and 10:56.972 --> 10:59.083 what we talk about . That's fantastic 10:59.083 --> 10:58.989 and I think the actions today will send 10:58.989 --> 11:01.880 a message to those foreign bodies that 11:02.349 --> 11:04.710 what was done for a very brief period 11:04.710 --> 11:06.932 here really in the scope of our history 11:06.932 --> 11:09.859 is not a legitimate way to to pursue 11:10.270 --> 11:14.109 international laws , um , so and just 11:14.109 --> 11:16.220 on the EU Digital Services Act I feel 11:16.220 --> 11:18.599 remiss if I didn't mention that . The 11:18.599 --> 11:20.766 EU commissioning body there threatened 11:20.766 --> 11:23.200 Elon Musk , a non-EU citizen , talking 11:23.200 --> 11:26.280 to Donald Trump , a non-EU citizen came 11:26.280 --> 11:28.440 for president , and threatened them 11:28.440 --> 11:30.384 specifically not to talk about the 11:30.384 --> 11:32.551 unrest , the street protests in the UK 11:32.551 --> 11:34.551 at the time . The UK is no longer a 11:34.551 --> 11:36.384 member of the EU , so the EU was 11:36.384 --> 11:38.384 threatening , and today they're now 11:38.384 --> 11:40.384 we're hearing they're threatening a 11:40.384 --> 11:42.718 billion dollars in fines against X , uh , 11:42.718 --> 11:45.051 for noncompliance with this information . 11:45.051 --> 11:44.869 And we've seen the head of their 11:44.869 --> 11:47.260 commission target non-EU citizens 11:47.260 --> 11:49.482 talking to non-EU citizens about non-EU 11:49.482 --> 11:52.340 territories and so this is just one of 11:52.340 --> 11:54.229 these things as this code becomes 11:54.229 --> 11:57.090 voluntary uh mandatory in in July , uh , 11:57.099 --> 11:59.321 to know that the State Department is is 11:59.321 --> 12:01.559 focused on . Protecting free speech 12:01.559 --> 12:03.670 both within and without is is I think 12:03.670 --> 12:05.892 an important thing . Well , just beyond 12:05.892 --> 12:08.059 Elon , uh , if a country or a group of 12:08.059 --> 12:09.948 countries in the case of the EU , 12:09.948 --> 12:12.115 although it considers itself sort of a 12:12.115 --> 12:11.479 country because these countries have , 12:11.559 --> 12:13.559 you know , given over a significant 12:13.559 --> 12:15.448 amount of sovereignty in order to 12:15.448 --> 12:17.670 become a member of the EU when you have 12:17.670 --> 12:21.340 foreign entities . Taking actions that 12:21.340 --> 12:24.059 go after Americans for speech that 12:24.059 --> 12:26.170 becomes a foreign policy irritant for 12:26.170 --> 12:28.115 the United States and more than an 12:28.115 --> 12:30.281 irritant , it becomes an impediment in 12:30.281 --> 12:32.281 some cases to cooperate . Um , when 12:32.281 --> 12:31.950 they're going not just after a high 12:31.950 --> 12:35.400 profile person like Elon but anybody 12:35.400 --> 12:37.567 for that matter , I mean , I , I think 12:37.567 --> 12:39.900 if you extend this out you could see it , 12:39.900 --> 12:42.011 you know , threatening commentators , 12:42.011 --> 12:44.011 threatening people that are opining 12:44.011 --> 12:46.122 about world events , uh , potentially 12:46.122 --> 12:45.469 threatening office holders in the 12:45.469 --> 12:47.580 United States . I mean , so what if , 12:47.580 --> 12:49.747 what if a American political figure on 12:49.747 --> 12:52.030 the left or right criticized something 12:52.030 --> 12:54.197 that was happening in Europe ? Imagine 12:54.197 --> 12:56.363 right now if all these people freaking 12:56.363 --> 12:58.363 out over Bu Kelly and El Salvador . 12:58.363 --> 13:00.697 We're suddenly being threatened by some , 13:00.697 --> 13:02.808 you know , Western hemisphere version 13:02.808 --> 13:05.030 of the EU or we're gonna come after you 13:05.030 --> 13:07.308 because you're you're you're attacking , 13:07.308 --> 13:09.419 uh , the president of El Salvador and 13:09.419 --> 13:11.419 the left would be freaking out so I 13:11.419 --> 13:13.474 think that this is a very legitimate 13:13.474 --> 13:15.697 issue for us to raise as a bilateral or 13:15.697 --> 13:17.752 in this case with the EU irritant in 13:17.752 --> 13:19.863 our foreign policy . It has to become 13:19.863 --> 13:22.086 part of one of the things that we raise 13:22.086 --> 13:21.280 when we interact with them about the 13:21.280 --> 13:23.169 impact this is having on American 13:23.169 --> 13:25.224 citizens at the end of the day , the 13:25.224 --> 13:25.080 number one priority of the State 13:25.080 --> 13:27.191 Department . Is to serve the national 13:27.191 --> 13:29.302 interest of the United States and the 13:29.302 --> 13:31.358 interest of the American people . We 13:31.358 --> 13:31.349 work for the American people . It's the 13:31.349 --> 13:33.516 United States Department of State , so 13:33.516 --> 13:35.349 that that we need to return that 13:35.349 --> 13:37.182 principle and everything we do , 13:37.182 --> 13:39.238 including this , right ? And this is 13:39.238 --> 13:41.460 such a fair and frankly merciful way of 13:41.460 --> 13:43.571 doing this as well . You don't sounds 13:43.571 --> 13:45.571 like you don't want the power to go 13:45.571 --> 13:45.299 after the other side for for 13:45.299 --> 13:47.521 misinformation and and things like this 13:47.521 --> 13:49.521 we would be here all day , yeah , I 13:49.521 --> 13:51.632 mean , I could build a whole building 13:51.632 --> 13:53.799 to go after that , but the best way to 13:53.799 --> 13:53.289 do it is just to say they're . Lying 13:53.289 --> 13:55.400 here's the truth , that's why we have 13:55.400 --> 13:57.622 things like this today , and that's why 13:57.622 --> 13:59.733 we're able to interact with you and , 13:59.733 --> 14:01.845 and , uh , and others that that's the 14:01.845 --> 14:03.956 best way to do it and it's annoying . 14:03.956 --> 14:03.169 Don't get me wrong . I mean they say 14:03.169 --> 14:05.391 things that aren't true every day stuff 14:05.391 --> 14:07.558 is leaked in the press that's reported 14:07.558 --> 14:09.780 on as fact , and it's not fact or stuff 14:09.780 --> 14:11.891 is reported and commentary , not if , 14:12.090 --> 14:13.979 commentators say what they want . 14:13.979 --> 14:16.159 Mainstream newspapers and mainstream 14:16.409 --> 14:18.719 media outlets report things as fact 14:18.719 --> 14:21.710 that are completely not true . So our 14:21.710 --> 14:23.988 approach to that is not shut them down , 14:23.988 --> 14:25.877 not find them , right ? Our , our 14:25.877 --> 14:27.821 approach to that is to say they're 14:27.821 --> 14:29.877 lying here's the truth . It's , it's 14:29.877 --> 14:29.690 harder it's annoying , you know , but , 14:29.710 --> 14:31.988 but , but that's the best way to do it . 14:31.988 --> 14:34.043 If you don't do it that way then you 14:34.043 --> 14:36.266 recognize that someday in the future if 14:36.266 --> 14:38.599 you create this power to shut that down , 14:38.599 --> 14:40.932 someone in my position will do it to us , 14:40.932 --> 14:42.932 and I , I just think that begins to 14:42.932 --> 14:45.154 devolve very rapidly as we've seen with 14:45.154 --> 14:44.869 this experiment that they did . You're 14:44.869 --> 14:47.036 putting the censorship gun down and uh 14:47.036 --> 14:48.980 the American people are incredibly 14:48.980 --> 14:51.147 grateful for it . So thank you so much 14:51.147 --> 14:51.030 for the right thing to do . Thank you 14:51.030 --> 14:53.141 and thanks for your attention to this 14:53.141 --> 14:55.197 topic . I know you've been on this a 14:55.197 --> 14:54.919 long time . Thank you , Mr . Secretary .