US Denies Visas to Ex-EU Commissioner and Others Over Online Platform Rules
The US State Department announced it would deny visas to a group of five people, including a former EU commissioner, for reportedly seeking to "force" US-based social media platforms into silencing opinions they oppose.
"These radical activists and aggressive non-profits have advanced suppression campaigns by other governments - in each case targeting US voices and US firms," said Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The former European tech regulator remarked that a "targeted campaign" was underway.
Officials labeled Breton as the "key designer" of the European Union's online content law, which mandates content moderation on social media firms.
A Divisive Regulation
However, the act has frustrated some US conservatives who see it as an attempt to silence conservative viewpoints. EU authorities rejects this characterization.
Breton has clashed with the billionaire entrepreneur, owner of platform X, over obligations to follow EU rules.
The European Commission recently fined X €120m over its verification system – the inaugural penalty under the DSA. It said the platform's system was "misleading" because the firm was not "properly authenticating users".
As a countermove, the platform prevented the Commission from running advertisements on its platform.
Responses and Additional Restrictions
Responding to the visa ban, Breton posted on X: "Addressing the US: Censorship isn't where you think it is."
Another listed individual, who leads the UK-based disinformation research group, was also listed.
A senior US diplomat the official alleged the GDI of using US taxpayer money "to exhort censorship and targeting of American speech and media".
A GDI spokesperson said the visa sanctions as "an authoritarian attack on free expression and a blatant example of government censorship".
"These measures today are immoral, unlawful, and contrary to American values," they stated.
Another figure 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 campaigns to weaponize the state apparatus against American people".
Also subject to bans were two executives of a German organization, which the US officials said aided in implementing the DSA.
Responding, the two leaders described it as an "act of repression by a administration that is showing disregard for the rule of law".
"We will not be intimidated by a government that uses accusations of censorship to silence those who defend human rights," they added.
Policy Justification
Rubio said that action was initiated 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 infringements of American sovereignty. Foreign-imposed regulations by overseas regulators aimed at US expression is unacceptable," he added.
