The United States Denies Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Regarding Social Media Policies
The US State Department declared it would refuse entry permits to five individuals, among them a ex-European Union official, for allegedly seeking to "force" American online companies into silencing opinions they disagree with.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case focusing on US voices and US firms," remarked Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Thierry Breton suggested that a "witch hunt" was underway.
Breton was described as the "architect" of the European Union's online content law, which enforces speech regulations on digital platforms.
A Divisive Regulation
However, it has angered some US conservatives who see it as seeking to censor conservative viewpoints. EU authorities denies this.
The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, owner of platform X, over obligations to follow European regulations.
EU regulators recently fined X 120 million euros over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "deceptive" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".
In response, the platform blocked the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Responding to the entry restriction, the former commissioner wrote on X: "To our American friends: Speech suppression does not lie where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions.
A senior US diplomat Sarah B Rogers alleged the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort suppression and targeting of US expression and media".
A representative for the group said the visa sanctions as "a repressive move on free speech and a blatant example of government censorship".
"Their actions today are unethical, illegal, and un-American," the spokesperson added.
Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that combats digital hatred and misinformation, was similarly issued a ban.
The undersecretary called Mr Ahmed a "primary partner with efforts to weaponize the government against US citizens".
Also subject to bans were two executives of HateAid, which the State Department said aided in implementing the DSA.
In a statement, the two CEOs called it an "attempt to silence by a government that is increasingly disregarding the legal principles".
"We will not be intimidated by a state that uses claims of suppression to muzzle those who stand up for fundamental freedoms," they added.
Official Rationale
The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to enact entry bans on "representatives of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"The administration has been clear that his national sovereignty foreign policy rejects violations of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at US expression is unacceptable," he added.
