Rubio says Americans could one day be detained in Europe for social media posts

The Trump administration has criticized several European policies that require platforms to remove certain categories of speech, saying they undermine freedom of expression.

Published: January 4, 2026 6:45pm

Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a warning to American citizens about a potential threat to U.S. free speech in Europe. 

U.S. citizens traveling in Europe could one day be detained over social media posts made years earlier due to European speech laws, Rubio said.

“Are we going to live in a world where some American puts up a social media post and then gets to some airport somewhere and is arrested?” Rubio asked, according to Fox News.

The Trump administration has criticized several European policies that require platforms to remove certain categories of speech, saying they undermine freedom of expression. 

Rubio specifically referenced penalties faced by the social platform X under European regulations, portraying them as pressure on American tech companies. 

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