The United States Rejects Entry Permits to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Regarding Social Media Regulations
American diplomatic officials declared it would deny visas to five individuals, among them a ex-European Union official, for reportedly seeking to "pressure" American online companies into curtailing perspectives they disagree with.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by foreign states - in each case focusing on US voices and American companies," remarked US diplomat Marco Rubio.
Thierry Breton suggested that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Officials labeled Breton as the "mastermind" of the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates content moderation on digital platforms.
A Contentious Law
Yet, it has angered some US conservatives who see it as seeking to censor right-wing opinions. EU authorities rejects this characterization.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over requirements to adhere to EU rules.
The European Commission imposed a penalty on X €120m over its blue tick badges – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
As a countermove, the platform blocked the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Responding to the entry restriction, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.
A senior US diplomat the official alleged the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort censorship and targeting of US expression and press".
A GDI spokesperson said the visa sanctions as "a repressive move on free speech and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"These measures today are immoral, illegal, and un-American," they stated.
Another figure of the an online hate watchdog, a non-governmental organization that fights digital hatred and false information, was also handed a ban.
The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to weaponize the government against US citizens".
Additionally facing restrictions were two executives of HateAid, which the State Department said helped enforce the DSA.
Responding, the two leaders called it an "attempt to silence by a government that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We refuse to be silenced by a government that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they added.
Official Rationale
Rubio said that action was initiated to enact entry bans on "agents of the international suppression network" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been clear that his national sovereignty foreign policy opposes infringements of US autonomy. Foreign-imposed regulations by foreign censors targeting American speech is no exception," he affirmed.
