US Refuses Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Social Media Rules
The US State Department stated it would refuse entry permits to a group of five people, among them a former EU commissioner, for reportedly seeking to "pressure" American online companies into silencing perspectives they oppose.
"These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have promoted suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case targeting American speakers and US firms," stated US diplomat the official.
The former European tech regulator remarked that a "witch hunt" was occurring.
Officials labeled Breton as the "architect" of the European Union's online content law, which imposes speech regulations on digital platforms.
A Contentious Law
Yet, it has angered some US conservatives who view it as an attempt to silence right-wing opinions. Brussels denies this.
The official has been in conflict with Elon Musk, the world's richest man, over obligations to follow European regulations.
The European Commission imposed a penalty on X 120 million euros over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. Regulators stated the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "meaningfully verifying users".
As a countermove, the platform blocked the European body 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 isn't where you think it is."
Clare Melford, who leads the UK-based Global Disinformation Index (GDI), was included in the sanctions.
US Undersecretary of State the official accused the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to encourage suppression and blacklisting of US expression and press".
A representative for the group characterized the entry bans as "an authoritarian attack on free speech and an egregious act of state-led suppression".
"Their actions today are unethical, illegal, and contrary to American values," 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.
Rogers called 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 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 accusations of censorship to silence those who defend human rights," they added.
Policy Justification
The Secretary of State stated that steps had been taken to impose visa restrictions on "agents of the global censorship-industrial complex" who would be "generally barred from entering the United States".
"The administration has been clear that his national sovereignty foreign policy rejects infringements of American sovereignty. Extraterritorial overreach by foreign censors aimed at American speech is no exception," he affirmed.
