Censorship and the Crisis of European Democracy: A Philosophical, Historical, and Empirical Inquiry into Pseudo-Liberalism and the Digital Services Act.

Censorship and the Crisis of European Democracy: A Philosophical, Historical, and Empirical Inquiry into Pseudo-Liberalism and the Digital Services Act examines the growing tension between digital regulation and the fundamental democratic principle of freedom of expression. In this interdisciplinary work, Professor Marcello Ferrada de Noli offers a philosophical, historical, and empirical analysis of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and its potential implications for democratic societies.

Drawing on the intellectual tradition of classical liberalism—from Socrates’ reflections on civic discourse to the writings of Voltaire and Montesquieu—the book situates contemporary debates about online regulation within a broader history of political thought on democracy and free speech. At the same time, it presents empirical observations and documented cases concerning the effects of digital platform governance, search-engine visibility, and online knowledge production.

The author argues that mechanisms introduced under the DSA risk transforming regulatory frameworks intended to combat harmful content into instruments that may marginalize dissenting viewpoints. Particular attention is given to the role of online encyclopaedias, search engines, and emerging artificial-intelligence systems in shaping public access to information.

By integrating philosophical reasoning, historical comparison, and contemporary case studies, this work contributes to the ongoing international debate on censorship, digital governance, and the future of democratic discourse in the digital age.