US Rejects Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Additional Figures Over Online Platform Policies
The US State Department stated it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, including a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "pressure" US-based social media platforms into suppressing viewpoints they disagree with.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states - in each case focusing on American speakers and US firms," said US diplomat the official.
The former European tech regulator suggested that a "targeted campaign" was occurring.
Breton was described as the "architect" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which enforces content moderation on social media firms.
A Contentious Law
However, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who view it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. Brussels denies this.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over requirements to follow EU rules.
The European Commission imposed a penalty on X €120m over its blue tick badges – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".
As a countermove, Musk's site prevented the Commission from making adverts on its platform.
Reactions and Broader Bans
Reacting to the visa ban, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression isn't where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the British disinformation research group, was also listed.
US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using American public funds "to encourage suppression and targeting of American speech and media".
A GDI spokesperson said the entry bans as "an authoritarian attack on free expression and a blatant example of government censorship".
"Their actions today are unethical, illegal, and un-American," the spokesperson added.
Another figure of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-governmental organization that fights online hate and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban.
Rogers called Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to misuse the state apparatus against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were Anna-Lena von Hodenberg and Josephine Ballon of a German organization, which the US officials said helped enforce the DSA.
In a statement, the two leaders called it an "act of repression by a administration that is showing disregard for the legal principles".
"We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to silence those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they concluded.
Official Rationale
The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to enact entry bans on "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been explicit that his America First foreign policy opposes infringements of American sovereignty. Foreign-imposed regulations by foreign censors aimed at American speech is unacceptable," he affirmed.
