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** Welcome to the 'EUSSR': Unpopular European Regimes Grasping for Power Crack Down on Dissent ([link removed])
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by Robert Williams • February 11, 2026 at 5:00 am
* So, if you are an unpopular regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do?
* In supposed democracies, this latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent "democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to crush freedom of speech.
* "⚠️Danger: Governments will dictate what you see, burying opposing views and creating echo chambers controlled by the state. Free exploration of ideas? Gone—replaced by curated propaganda." — Pavel Durov, Founder and CEO of Telegram, X, February 4, 2026.
* "⚠️Danger: Vague definitions of 'hate' could label criticism of the government as divisive, leading to shutdowns or fines. This can be a tool for suppressing opposition. These aren't safeguards; they're steps toward total control. We've seen this playbook before—governments weaponizing 'safety' to censor critics." — Pavel Durov, X, February 4, 2026.
* "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." — First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
* The problem, of course, is that usually "hate" is never defined -- meaning that anything and everything can be labeled "hate" and often is. Judgments about what constitutes "hate" become entirely subjective and run the danger of existing exclusively "in the eye of the beholder."
* France is planning a similar move, "to ban minors from Instagram and TikTok," and Germany is also seriously considering introducing such a ban as well.
* Denmark, Greece and Britain are also in various stages of either introducing or seriously considering banning X, and European authorities are simultaneously seeking to come up with other ways to close down X.
* All this is in addition to a €120 million fine that the European Commission has imposed on X under its "Delete. Silence. Abolish" Digital Services Act.
* To the European governments that refuse to acknowledge that many of their citizens are sick and tired of their repressive policies, when the ayatollahs slaughter their citizens in Iran, it is not a pressing problem, but banning X is of the highest priority.

In supposed democracies, this latest "benefit " to your people - cracking down on dissent "democratically" -- means using technology rather than firepower to crush freedom of speech. (Images source: iStock)

Governing elites in Europe, in what increasingly appears to be the EUSSR (European Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) race to the bottom, have been growing ever more unpopular. Disapproval ratings are skyrocketing. In France, 77% of the public disapprove of President Emmanuel Macron. In Britain, 68% disapprove of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In Germany, 64% disapprove of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and in Spain, 61% have had it up to here with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

In other parts of Europe, such as Germany and France, all sorts of pseudo-legal acrobatics are being generated to prevent political opponents from running for high office (such as here and here).

So, if you are an unpopular regime desperately clinging to power, what do you do? It's easy! Iran's ayatollahs, China's Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin and Vladimir Putin could tell you. You simply crack down -- more than ever -- on free speech and dissent!

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