The US State Department has imposed visa bans on five Europeans, including former European Commissioner Thierry Breton, accusing them of leading efforts to pressure American tech companies into censoring US viewpoints. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the individuals have engaged in 'organized efforts to coerce American platforms to censor, demonetize, and suppress American viewpoints they oppose.'
The move is part of a broader Trump administration campaign against foreign influence over online speech, using immigration law rather than platform regulations or sanctions. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, those targeted will generally be barred from entering the US, and some may face removal proceedings if already in the country.
Rubio did not name those targeted, but Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers identified them on X, accusing them of 'fomenting censorship of American speech.' The five named are: Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg, leaders of HateAid; Clare Melford, who runs the Global Disinformation Index; and former EU commissioner Breton.
Rogers called Breton 'a mastermind' of the European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to combat hate speech and disinformation but which Washington says stifles free speech and imposes costs on US tech companies. In recent months, Trump officials have ordered US diplomats to build opposition to the DSA.
Breton responded on social media: 'Is McCarthy's witch hunt back?' A spokesperson for the Global Disinformation Index called the US action 'immoral, unlawful, and un-American' and 'an authoritarian attack on free speech.'
