U.S. Capitol siege heralds tougher social media curbs, says EU commissioner

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton speaks at a news conference on the Digital Services and Digital Markets Acts at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium December 15, 2020. Olivier Matthys/Pool via REUTERS/Files

BERLIN (Reuters) - The storming of the U.S. Capitol will herald an era of tougher social media regulation, European Union Commissioner Thierry Breton said, comparing the violence with the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that led to a global crackdown on terrorism.

"Just as 9/11 marked a paradigm shift for global security, 20 years later we are witnessing a before-and-after in the role of digital platforms in our democracy," the Commissioner for the Internal Market wrote in a column for Politico.