That could be it. I think this relates to the cultural context. People in the US are fierce defenders of free speech, and I can see why any attempt to restrict it there would be seen as authoritarian.

In Europe, after the horrors of the second world war (and our entire history really) we aren't so keen to let people stir up hatred among us. So restricting things like that is not being imposed on the majority of us;we want those restrictions for the most part. So doesn't feel authoritarian at all.