US Denies Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Additional Figures Concerning Online Platform Policies
American diplomatic officials announced it would deny visas to a group of five people, including a ex-European Union official, for allegedly seeking to "coerce" American social media platforms into suppressing opinions they disagree with.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case focusing on American speakers and American companies," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Thierry Breton implied that a "witch hunt" was underway.
Officials labeled Breton as the "key designer" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates speech regulations on social media firms.
A Contentious Law
However, it has angered some US conservatives who see it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities rejects this characterization.
The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to adhere to EU rules.
EU regulators recently fined X €120m over its blue tick badges – the first fine under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
As a countermove, the platform blocked the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Responding to the entry restriction, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who heads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was also listed.
US Undersecretary of State the official alleged the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage censorship and blacklisting of US expression and media".
A GDI spokesperson said the visa sanctions as "a repressive move on free speech and an egregious act of government censorship".
"Their actions today are immoral, illegal, and contrary to American values," they stated.
Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that fights digital hatred and misinformation, was also handed a ban.
Rogers labeled Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with campaigns to weaponize the state apparatus against American people".
Additionally facing restrictions were two executives of HateAid, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
In a statement, the two CEOs described it as an "act of repression by a government that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We will not be intimidated by a government that uses accusations of censorship to muzzle those who defend fundamental freedoms," they added.
Official Rationale
The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to enact visa restrictions on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been explicit that his America First foreign policy opposes violations of American sovereignty. Foreign-imposed regulations by overseas regulators targeting American speech is no exception," he added.
