The United States Denies Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Additional Figures Regarding Social Media Policies
American diplomatic officials announced it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, including a former EU commissioner, for allegedly seeking to "pressure" American social media platforms into curtailing opinions they disagree with.
"These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have advanced censorship crackdowns by other governments - in each case targeting American speakers and American companies," stated Secretary of State the official.
The former European tech regulator implied that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Breton was described as the "mastermind" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on social media firms.
A Divisive Regulation
However, it has angered some US conservatives who view it as seeking to censor right-wing opinions. Brussels rejects this characterization.
The official has been in conflict with the billionaire entrepreneur, the world's richest man, over obligations to adhere to European regulations.
The European Commission imposed a penalty on X €120m over its blue tick badges – the first fine 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, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship does not lie where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who heads the UK-based disinformation research group, was included in the sanctions.
US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using American public funds "to exhort suppression and blacklisting of US expression and press".
A GDI spokesperson said the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free expression and an egregious act of government censorship".
"These measures today are immoral, unlawful, and un-American," the spokesperson added.
Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit that fights digital hatred and false information, was similarly issued a ban.
The undersecretary labeled Mr Ahmed a "key collaborator with efforts to weaponize the state apparatus against US citizens".
Additionally facing restrictions were two executives of HateAid, which the State Department said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two CEOs described it as an "attempt to silence by a government 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 defend fundamental freedoms," they added.
Official Rationale
Rubio said that steps had been taken to impose entry bans on "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "typically prohibited from entering the United States".
"President Trump has been clear that his America First foreign policy opposes violations of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors targeting US expression is unacceptable," he added.
