A senior Labour MP has accused the Trump administration of undermining free speech after the US announced visa-related sanctions against two British anti-disinformation campaigners. Chi Onwurah, chair of parliament’s technology select committee, said banning people for their views “undermines the free speech the administration claims to seek”.
The sanctions target five Europeans, including Imran Ahmed, head of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), and Clare Melford, chief executive of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). Both organisations have clashed directly with Elon Musk, the owner of X, who has previously tried to sue the CCDH and called for the GDI to be shut down.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the five, who also include former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, of leading “organised efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetise and suppress American viewpoints they oppose”. A state department official said on X: “If you spend your career fomenting censorship of American speech, you’re unwelcome on American soil.”
A GDI spokesperson called the move “an authoritarian attack on free speech” and “immoral, unlawful and un-American”. A UK government spokesperson said that while every country sets its own visa rules, “we support the laws and institutions which are working to keep the internet free from the most harmful content”.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said the measures amounted to “intimidation and coercion aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty”, and the European Commission said it “strongly condemns” the actions. Jonathan Hall, the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, warned the ban would have a “massive chilling effect” on discussions about internet regulation.
Campaigners warned the UK could be targeted next due to its Online Safety Act. Ava Lee of People Vs Big Tech said: “The Trump administration is escalating its attacks on Europeans trying to uphold the rule of law when it comes to big tech. With the Online Safety Act, the UK is likely to be next in the firing line.”
